


Hapless Queer Avengers and the Girl Next Door

by bluestalking, feverbeats



Series: Hapless Queer Avengers [6]
Category: Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, New Avengers (Comics), Spider-Woman (Comic), Thor (Comics), X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: Additional Warnings Apply, F/F, F/M, Genderqueer Character, M/M, Multi, Other, Queer Themes, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-19
Updated: 2013-08-30
Packaged: 2017-11-26 01:51:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 59
Words: 127,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/645213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluestalking/pseuds/bluestalking, https://archiveofourown.org/users/feverbeats/pseuds/feverbeats
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If they don’t sort out the shit between them (and probably a whole lot of extra shit that has nothing to do with each other), the team’s gonna fall apart in a month. Never mind what’s gonna happen to Wanda Maximoff.</p><p> </p><p>  <i>In which Wanda Maximoff makes an appearance, Latveria makes a disappearance, Ms. Marvel's team is a giant mess, and Magneto has a master plan.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. wanda maximoff meets a number of weirdos

**Author's Note:**

> NOTES: Hi! You guys are amazing. This is the last big story for HQA, and like most writers who say that shit, we probably mean it. For anyone who doesn't recognize a bunch of these characters, I recommend Brian Michael Bendis's NEW AVENGERS, and also honing your skills at finding less popular characters in single panels or issues of event books. Spider-Woman's origin book is not gorgeous, but it's worth a read.
> 
> STORY WARNINGS: transmisogyny, past rape/seduction/abuse/incest, rape culture, mental illness, bad and abusive parenting, explicit consensual adult sex of several gender/role/number configurations, gendered and explicit language, mutants are an allegory, alcohol use/abuse
> 
> Additional, specific warnings posted, as usual, at the start of each chapter.
> 
> CHAPTER WARNINGS: mutants are an allegory, bad parenting, mental illness

Wanda has heard of the man who is talking to her father. His name is Bruce Banner, a human, and sometimes he’s also a creature called the Hulk. He’s a scientist who turned himself into a monster with his own experiments. Wanda has heard it’s not a good idea to push him around, but Sabretooth and Juggernaut have their hands on his arms now, and Magneto is regarding him with his own arms crossed.

“Now that you’ve obliged me by coming here,” Magneto says, “you can answer me a question. _What gives you the right?”_ He is glaring down at Banner with barely-contained rage. All the little pieces of metal in the room rattle almost imperceptibly. “What makes you think that _you,_ , one of _them,_ can step into our world and decide who is allowed the use of their gifts?”

Wanda knows, from her father’s brief explanation, what he’s talking about—and she agrees. Bruce Banner, however, doesn’t seem like he’s paying that much attention. He actually seems a little bored.

“Well,” he says. “First of all. I didn’t. The kid did. I wouldn’t have taken the job if it was just her parents trying to shut up their mutant child.”

Wanda doesn’t think she’s ever heard anyone answer one of her father’s rages so calmly. 

“And are her parents mutants?” Magneto asks, his voice almost inaudible. “Or are they humans, more concerned with suppressing her skills out of their own fear than in helping her control them?”

“I think the concern,” Banner says tightly, “was in the fact that they couldn’t hug their kid without getting acid burns. I think they were scared to death of what would happen if child protective services found out their homeschooled seven-year-old daughter never leaves the house or wears clothes. I think a seven-year-old, by the way, is old enough to know that she’s miserable.”

Okay, Wanda decides. She has _definitely_ never seen anyone talk to Magneto like that.

She’s so busy thinking about this (and deciding if she admires it or thinks he’s stupid) that she almost misses the look Banner gives her—concerned, and a little angry. Which doesn’t make any sense at all. What did _she_ do?

“It’s not up to you,” Magneto snaps. “She should be receiving guidance and training from her own kind. We could help her learn to control it as she wishes.”

“Yeah, well, nobody was interested,” Banner says flatly. “So I guess it’s out of your hands. Listen—you can yell at me all day, but you know perfectly well that you can’t keep me here, or afford to try.”

Banner may be a lousy, interfering human, Wanda thinks, but he is _fearless._ She is impressed, she decides. A little bit, anyway.

Magneto sighs shortly. “You’re right. But I hope you know you’ve made enemies of more mutants than you can afford. Even if I let you go, that will catch up with you.

“Yeah, well,” Banner says again. “Things that catch up with me have a way of backing off again.”

Magneto shrugs, too casually. “I suppose the Avengers are good at protecting one another, if all else fails. And I hear you’ve found yourself a god. Perhaps you’ll be lucky. How _are_ the Avengers lately?” He narrows his eyes.

Something thin and nasty happens to Banner’s expression.

“If you want to ask about Pietro,” he says, “you should ask Pietro. If he’ll talk to you. I don’t think the rest of our team are interest in handing you gossip.”

Wanda bites her lip so hard it goes numb. That explains Banner’s glances. Pietro is with the Avengers. 

She wonders if she should be offended that Banner isn’t bothering to look at her now.

“If I really wanted to know, I’d call,” Magneto says distantly, waving his hand as if to dismiss the subject entirely.

“Truly, every parent should be modeled after you,” Bruce says, flat and hostile. “Now, can I go, or do we have more aggressive small talk scheduled?”

Once Magneto realizes he is powerless in a situation, he wastes no time in cutting his losses. “You’re free to go, of course, as it was your choice to come here to begin with.”

“Thanks,” Bruce says. He extricates himself from Juggernaut and Sabretooth (the latter looks, perhaps not oddly, hungry). He glances at her for a moment on his way out. Wanda meets his eyes with a jolt, and takes a step back. Somehow she doesn’t think that her father is the only one Banner is angry with.

When the door shuts behind him, Wanda says, “Father, couldn’t you have made him promise not to do it again?”

“Could I?” Magneto asks. “I doubt I could have forced even a lie out of that one. He’s not arrogant, like some of them. He’s something other.”

Wanda tilts her head. “You...respect him?” she guesses.

Sabretooth rolls his eyes.

Magneto nods. “That’s right. There’s practically no overlap in the people I like and the people I respect.” Before that has a chance to sink in with anyone, he continues, “But it doesn’t matter. He’s untouchable for a lot of reasons.”

“So, what you said—that other mutants will be after him. Is that not true?” Wanda asks.

“Debatable,” Magneto says. “I think it depends on how many people find out what he has done.”

“You gonna tell anybody?” Juggernaut interjects, which surprises Wanda. Juggernaut doesn’t try to put a word in edgewise very often. As far as Wanda sees, he just does his job and keeps his thoughts to himself.

“I’m considering the merits of that,” Magneto says. “I’m very angry. But he _does_ have a pet god as a partner. Not to mention the rest of the Avengers. And the Hulk. It might not be worth our while. On the other hand, it may.”

“The Avengers can’t really be that tough,” Wanda says. “They took Pietro, didn’t they?”

She says it too quickly, with too much enthusiasm, and she feels sick as soon as it comes out of her mouth. She thinks her face is still smiling, even though she can’t feel it. She keeps looking at her father and asking him to approve of the jab against her twin.

Magneto’s lip curls. “If only weakness of that sort were your brother’s problem,” he says. He frowns. “Has he tried to contact you at all?”

“Only the times I told you about already,” Wanda says pertly. “Why would he? _He’s_ the one who ran off. If he really wanted to talk to me, he wouldn’t have left.”

Magneto looks away, into the middle distance. “Mm. Well, I’m glad you’ve made your peace with that. You’re making great strides. I didn’t want to think you’d be held back by his—disappearance.” 

“Thanks,” Wanda says. She stomps on an impulse that shouts, _Why did you leave me? How could you do that? Why won’t you come back?_ She doesn’t tell her father about the letters she’s written and burned. He wouldn’t be so proud of her then.

“I don’t know what goes through that boy’s head,” Magneto says, mostly to himself, she thinks.

Wanda used to know _everything_ that went through Pietro’s head. But she doesn’t say that. She keeps her mouth shut and wonders if maybe she’ll be dismissed soon. She thinks she wouldn’t mind a walk, although fresh air is never as fresh here as it was where they grew up. That doesn’t matter so much; it’s easy to pretend otherwise.

“I apologize,” Magneto says, turning back to her. “I was lost in thought. I’m sure you have things to do. Don’t stop practicing your magic.”

“Yes, sir,” Wanda says. She leaves with unexpected relief.

~

When Wanda shuts the door to her room, _people_ step out: a blone, a brunette, and a big bald guy. Wanda jumps back with her hands raised and full of magic. Her hands are weapons.

“ _What?”_ she demands. That covers it, right?

“Hi,” says the brunette. She sounds cranky. It’s amazing that she gets so much crankiness into one syllable. “We would’ve sent a note except the postal system here sucks.”

“I know this ain’t a great situation to walk into,” the guy says, holding up his hands to show they’re empty. “But I promise, we’re not here to hurt you.” He checks with the other two like maybe they’ll forget that if he doesn’t remind them. “We just wanna talk. Just for a minute.”

“I was hoping to read a book or something,” Wanda says dubiously.

The blonde sighs sharply. “Do you know who we are, Wanda?”

Wanda doesn’t, so she just looks stupidly back at the woman until she loses patience. 

“My name is Ms. Marvel,” the woman says. “This is Spider-Woman, and—uh, Luke Cage. Getting a clearer picture?”

“Not really,” Wanda says. These people always think they’re so cool. Any human who doesn’t respect Magneto’s power enough to keep their distance from Genosha tends to give the front door a miss. This is not actually the first time someone has showed up in her room to rescue her or whatever. “Are you here to rescue me or whatever?” she asks.

“What?” says Ms. Marvel. “No.”

“Yes, we are,” Luke corrects her. “Aren’t we?”

“We’re here to talk,” says Spider-Woman. “In theory.” If Wanda has to choose one not to hate, Wanda likes her best.

“Maybe you should come back when you have a more organized agenda,” she suggests.

Ms. Marvel grits her teeth. “We’re here to discuss your powers and how they might be fostered somewhere else.”

“More importantly, we were kinda wondering if you really want to be here,” Luke says. “If not, we’d like to offer you someplace else to try on for awhile.”

“So, you’re trying to rescue me,” Wanda confirms. “Well, I’m fine, thank you. Genosha is extremely secure—” Most of the time. “—and provides a far more nurturing environment for mutants than anything you’re likely to be offering. Are any of you mutants?”

There’s an awkward pause, which Wanda doesn’t find surprising.

Ms. Marvel opens her mouth, but Luke says, “No. We’re not. But we’re friendly enough with some non-affiliated mutants, if you’re wondering about our politics.”

“I don’t care about politics,” Wanda says, which isn’t right, she cares _immensely._ “I was going to read a book.” Or take a walk. Whatever.

“What about your brother?” Spider-Woman says. “Have you really given up on him?”

“What?” Wanda says.

“I’ve heard you were close,” Spider-Woman says. “Heard he’s gone half-crazy without you around. Thought you might feel the same way.”

“In which case,” Luke says, crossing his arms, “maybe you want to get off this island and see how each other’s doing. No one’s saying you can’t come back here straightaway.”

“That wasn’t really the plan,” Ms. Marvel mutters.

“In the next plan, I think you shut up,” says Spider-Woman.

“Please help me understand,” Wanda says, “how my family is your business? What exactly do you want to do with me?” 

“Well, honey,” says Spider-Woman, and Wanda changes her mind about liking her at all, “when your brother goes a little nuts, he gets himself in trouble and maybe a few people die, on a bad day. When you go a little nuts...well, nobody knows what you can do, do they? I mean all of it. We all just know you’re really fucking powerful and one day you might go off.”

“So you’re here to...diffuse me,” Wanda says.

“You bet your ass, kiddo,” says Spider-Woman.

“My brother left,” Wanda says shortly. If she drags it out, it hurts. “And I’m perfectly stable. Thanks. I’m not about to blow anything up, so you don’t have to worry. Thanks. Bye.”

“Your brother left, but whose plan was that?” Ms. Marvel asks. Pushy bitch. “Iron Man says Pietro talks about you all the time.”

Oh, right, Wanda remembers. Pietro is with the Avengers now. How weird is it to think of Pietro as a superhero?

She pushes the thought away. “I agree with my father,” Wanda says more loudly. “About a lot of things. Pietro didn’t. He left. I guess if he loves me, he hates Magneto more. Which is still not your business, by the way.” 

She’s starting to glow a little.

“Hey,” says Luke. “Easy. We’re not taking you anywhere without your permission, okay, kid? If you want us to go, we’ll just go.”

Ms. Marvel glances at Spider-Woman. “Can you knock her out?” she whispers, not quietly enough that Wanda doesn’t hear her.

“ _No,”_ Spider-Woman says incredulously. “Jesus, Carol, what is _wrong_ with you?”

“What’s wrong with _me?”_ Ms. Marvel demands. “Here’s an idea, why don’t you just exert your hideously aggressive personality and she’ll probably come right along with us!”

Luke makes a face. “Sorry about this, kid,” he tells Wanda.

“Worst unwanted rescue ever,” Wanda says bluntly.

Spider-Woman turns away from Ms. Marvel, still looking harassed, and says, “Listen. There’s this rumor going around that your brother has been systematically trying to kill himself since he left Genosha, and the only thing that’s stopped him is getting hooked up with the Avengers. Supposedly it has a lot to do with you, but I guess the Avengers all pretty much hate you for it, or they would probably be here instead of us.”

“Oh,” Wanda says, her mouth dry.

“Oh,” Spider-Woman agrees. “So since they’re busy, we’re giving you a chance. You wanna trust Magneto over your best fucking friend? I know all about trustworthy authority figures, kiddo. Sometimes they’re big fat liars. Maybe you want to talk to your brother for five minutes before you decide on whose side you wanna take.” She turns back to Ms. Marvel. “Happy?” she asks.

“No,” Ms. Marvel says immediately.

“ _Yes,”_ Luke says. “That's the truth, Wanda. No lies, no manipulations. You wanna give us a shot?”

Wanda bites her tongue for a few seconds, while her heart thuds in her chest.

“No,” she says. “Get me a message from Pietro, that I _know_ is from Pietro, and maybe I’ll come with you. For my brother. Not for you.”

Ms. Marvel makes a frustrated sound.

“No, that’s fair,” Luke says. “I think we can do that. I just hope we’re lucky enough to sneak in here twice without getting caught. Honestly, I’ll be happy if we can get out once.”

“I won’t tell,” Wanda says. She’s not going to help, either, but it doesn’t seem worth saying.

“Thanks,” says Spider-Woman. It’s difficult to tell if she means it or is being sarcastic.

“We’ll be back within twenty-four hours,” says Luke. “I hope.”

“Wait,” Wanda says, and pushes past them to her desk. She scribbles a note and then hands it to Luke, who seems almost reasonable even if he is a little scary. “Can you deliver that to Pietro for me?”

Luke smiles. “You bet. See you soon. Stay outta trouble.”

“Let’s _go,”_ Ms. Marvel huffs.

Wanda turns to her shelf and looks for a book. She doesn’t watch them leave. She doesn’t expect them to come back.


	2. the team with no name can't get anything done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Oh!” Hank says, startled. “Er, hi there, Ms. Danvers. I’m afraid everyone’s been a tad preoccupied lately."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: references to terrorism in NY, Carol is a little racist, transmisogyny

The trip to Genosha is bad enough, and it only gets worse. Luke’s twenty-four-hour promise goes out the window and turns into an embarrassing two weeks. They deliver the letter, all right, right to Avengers Tower (as if that weren’t a shitty enough reminder that some superheroes have better collective budgets and are more popular than they’ll ever be, but whatever). But then the damned Avengers won’t pick up the phone, _or_ answer the door. And none of them respond to their messages.

Wanda was right—it’s the worst rescue ever. They’ve been half-heartedly doing small jobs in the meantime, but the screw-up is looming over their heads. Jessica (Drew, Spider-Woman, she wouldn’t have picked that named if she’d known it was so damned popular) is brooding over it in Jess (Jones, Jewel, the blond one) and Danny and Luke’s house. That, of course, is what they’ve got for a tower right now. A stupid apartment.

Danny and Jess are arguing about the name again.

“The Valiants sounds too much like the _valence,”_ Danny is saying. “So we’re curtains. Or a sports team. I can’t quite be okay with that.”

Luke shrugs. “I dunno, why don’t we just call us the New Avengers or something?”

“Because,” Carol snaps, “we don’t want to be associated with them. Besides, I think there’s already a team using that name.” She’s been in an increasingly foul mood ever since their failed attempt to rescue Wanda, mostly because no one respects her authority. To be fair, she was in a pretty foul mood before that, too.

“We’ll be associated with them no matter what we’re called,” Danny points out. “We’re superheroes in New York.”

“Do we need a name for a team that never _does_ anything?” Jessica asks. She kind of likes that Carol is still pissed off, except that Carol’s reasons are so fucking infuriating. At least every little spike of rage is speeding up her heartbeat and hastening her early death.

“We tried!” Carol says, throwing her hands up. “We’ve been trying. We’re not going to stop, either. As far as the Avengers go, if they can’t get their heads out of their asses—You know, even Tony won’t answer my calls, and we usually get along fine.”

Luke makes a face, and Jessica appreciates that as an alternative to venomizing Carol.

“Have we tried the post office?” Danny asks. “Manhattan is not Genosha.”

“I’m not sure a friendly letter is going to do the trick anyway, hon,” Jess says.

“I was thinking we could send them something dangerous enough that they have to respond,” Danny says. “Why not, you know?”

“I’m in,” says Jessica ominously.

“Well,” Bobbi says, swinging her legs from her perch on a stool, “I could always go the official route and try to find out through Fury and Hill. I’m not sure they know better than anybody else, though.”

“We’re not bringing SHIELD in on this,” Carol says nastily, hoping her tone gets across what she thinks of Bobbi’s suggestion.

“Yeah, yeah, we know what you think of the _fake military,_ Carol,” Jessica says.

“If only that were their only issue,” Carol says loftily.

“Ladies,” Luke says, sounding exhausted.

“I do not think Iron Fist’s idea is bad at all,” says T’Challa. “I’m sure I could construct something both interesting and alarming.”

“I’m in, but only if you do it,” Luke says. “The rest of us are likely to kill somebody by mistake.”

“I kind of want to kill them,” Carol says.

“Oh, shut up,” says Jessica. “I can’t believe you’re throwing a hissy fit just because your fake BFF won’t call you back. Guess what, it’s _Tony Stark._ When he’s not publicly self-destructing he still has the attention span for like, two other people. Tops. And he’s in charge of a whole team.”

“ _I’m_ in charge of a team!” Carol shouts, kind of missing the point, Jessica thinks. “Or at least I’m supposed to be, but I can’t fucking function with you spewing your poison down my throat all the damn time!”

Luke stands up, in case he has to get between them. Again.

“Well, I legitimately forgot you were in charge just now,” Jessica says. “Now I suddenly remember! And I feel the urge to leave. Don’t let me know if you decide to bomb a highrise in the middle of fucking New York City, I want to be exonerated of your crimes.”

“That’s not really what I meant,” Danny says.

“More like a sparkler!” says T’Challa. “A flare, a mystical and technological signal!”

“See ya,” says Jessica. She slams the door instead of throwing herself out of a window, just to show that she’s not being a drama queen.

When she’s gone, Danny says, “I think you two could really use some...”

“No!” Carol snaps. “I swear to god, Danny, if you start on all that bullshit mind-meld Asian fusion stuff again—”

“Whoa, now,” Luke starts.

“Guys!” Bobbi says. “Can we focus?” If the rumors hadn’t been as ugly as they are—what Wanda can do and what Magneto wants her to do—they wouldn’t have gone in after her no matter how many sad brothers she had falling to pieces on the other side. And now they _are_ involved, which in Bobbi’s opinion means they have to act like it matters, no matter how much messing up they have to do first.

Jess says, “T’Challa’s idea is fine. At least we’ll know they’re more likely to get the message. And if they still don’t bite, we can ask Fury. It’s _not_ getting absorbed or being best friends or being weak to ask a question. I don’t think Fury’s stupid enough to think even the _Avengers_ are his team.”

Bobbi nods. “That’s what I was going to say.”

Carol makes herself take a deep breath. “Okay. T’Challa, you’re on the present. Everyone else, just keep training. Look out for small missions. And somebody should talk to Jessica.”

Everyone looks pointedly at one another until they all end up on Luke.

“I know, I know,” Luke says, getting up. He trusts Jess to talk to difficult people at least as much as he trusts himself, but Jessica is always a little weird around her. “Let me know if you say anything important while I’m gone.”

When he gets outside, he picks a direction, and hopes he’s right about it, looking at the sky as well as the ground.

~

The path Luke picks isn’t exactly right, but Jessica can tell it’s him, and she has to relent a little. It’s hard being mad at Luke for something that _is_ his fault, never mind something that’s not. Jessica makes her way down to street level and puts herself in his path, albeit with arms crossed, not feeling very friendly.

Luke smiles, although he doesn’t blame her for not smiling back. “Hey there,” he says. “We figured someone should come make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine,” she says, because really she is. Carol is just tiring. And disappointing.

Luke nods. “Okay. Good. I’m sorry you and Carol ain’t getting alone, though. She’s gotta calm down a little, huh?”

“Well,” Jessica says, “in case it’s not _crystal_ clear by now, it’s apparently my fault she’s not calm.” She glares at the ground and kicks it. “As I keep getting reminded. Yay, lucky me.”

“Yeah,” Luke says carefully. He’s not sure how far it’s his business to intrude. “So she says.” He clears his throat. “Well, if you want a hand working things out, we’re all happy to help.”

“ _I’ve_ got nothing to work out,” Jessica says shortly. “I worked everything out years ago. If Carol doesn’t want to fuck the result, that’s her problem, not mine.”

Luke winces. Jessica is always sharp as a tack, and not always in the nice sense. He can’t blame her for any of it, especially if it is what he thinks it is.

“I agree,” he says. “I’m sure we all do.” He’s not sure, but he can try to _make_ sure.

“That’s sweet,” Jessica says. “All right, are we building a magical greeting bomb? I’ll come back to the house to watch that. If Carol doesn’t like it, I might even help.”

Luke sighs. “Y’don’t want help, I get that, but are you two ever gonna settle your differences? I know I should be telling her this, not you, but it’s getting damn tense in there.”

“My differences are insoluble,” Jessica says flatly. “I’ll stop being pissed off with Carol when she stops acting like I'm a creepy monster that _tricked her.”_

Luke can’t exactly find fault with that argument. 

“Carol’s a problem,” he agrees. “She’s also our leader, so I doubt she’s going anywhere until we all do. I guess the best we can hope for now is that we don’t kill each other.”

“And that is why I was taking a walk,” Jessica says grimly. “Come on, Luke, let’s go back. But stop trying to pep-therapy-talk me, it’s just depressing for both of us.”

“Agreed,” Luke says, definitely feeling Jessica on the depression thing. He knows his way of dealing with things doesn’t work for everybody. It doesn’t seem to work at all for most of the team, unfortunately.

They head back to base; Jessica ignores everyone else when they get in the door, just sits down hard next to T’Challa and Danny, and says, “Okay. What are we gonna blow up in the Avengers’ faces?”

~

They send their calling card to the Avengers the next morning, and this time, blessedly, the silence only lasts a couple of hours. It’s long enough; sitting in a room that belongs to half the group and not the rest of the group, while everyone notices how ugly their interpersonal relationships are getting, and wondering whether this is going to be as much of a wash as everything else they’ve done lately is not the nicest Wednesday morning activity ever conceived. But, luckily, T’Challa gets a call, before he’s had a chance to give up on any action and head back to Wakanda, or the rest of the group have been kicked out of the apartment.

“Doctor Pym?” he says, raising his eyebrows at the rest of the room.

“Hey, there, T’Challa,” Hank says, looking awkwardly cheerful on T’Challa’s viewscreen. It’s been awhile. So, I got this—for lack of a better word, I’ll call it a flare. I got this flare, and I recognized your tech. Oh! And this was in it.” He waves a sheet of paper over his head.

“It worked!” Carol says, more surprised than anything else. She elbows T’Challa aside as much as possible. “Where _is_ everyone? We’ve been trying to contact you for weeks!”

“Oh!” Hank says, startled. “Er, hi there, Ms. Danvers. I’m afraid everyone’s been a tad preoccupied lately. Your message said you’re looking for Pietro? He’s not here, I’m afraid.”

“Where is he, then?” Danny asks.

“Some kind of bonding journey with Black Widow and Hawkeye,” Hank says.

“Bonding?” Carol demands. Luke considers suggesting that everyone could use a bonding journey. “What the hell do they need to bond for? This is urgent. It’s about his sister.”

“Er,” says Hank. “I think there are some things.”

“Never mind,” T’Challa says. “He is not here. I do not think it is our business to know why.”

“So where’s everyone else?” Jess asks.

Hank says, “Welp, Jan is at a charity fundraiser, Thor and Hulk are in Asgard visiting Thor’s mother, and Cap and Tony are taking a holiday in Latveria. I’m hoping they come back soon because I’m scheduled for a research trip in the Amazon River Basin!”

“ _Where?_ ” Jessica says incredulously.

“The Amazon—”

“No! Where are Tony and Steve?”

“Latveria!”

“That’s where Doctor Doom lives,” Bobbi points out reasonably. “That would be a crazy place to vacation. Has everyone gone crazy?”

“Not everyone,” Hank says. “Hey! If you wanted to talk to Quicksilver so badly, why didn’t you just come to me before? You know, the rest of my team barely knows you exist. No offense, Carol, I know you’re friends with Tony, but he _can_ be pretty oblivious.”

Jessica glowers. “So while you’re telling us we’re invisible, how about you also explain how come you’re the only one still at home?”

“I have work to do,” Hank offers, but he droops.

Carol relents with a sigh. She does feel bad that Hank always gets stuck with the less exciting dirty work. “Well, I’m glad you’re doing it. Probably saving the world while those assholes just go on picnics. This is actually kind of urgent. We’re trying to defuse the Scarlet Witch situation.”

“What situation?” Hank says. “As far as I’ve heard, she’s comfy where she is! And not doing any harm. Not to mention, Pietro’s now told me about a dozen times that humans should leave mutant issues to mutants. You’re not doing anything rash, right?”

“I’m never anything but reasonable,” Carol says.

The problem with Carol, Luke thinks, is that sometimes you think she’s joking when she’s not.

“We’re just a little concerned about her powers being nurtured in that environment,” he says. “The rumors ain’t good.”

Hank sighs. “Fair enough,” he says. “So, you want to make this girl into something a little safer than Magneto’s time bomb?”

“We thought we’d try talking to her brother,” Danny says.

“Which is not going well, obviously,” Jess says.

“But if you can put us in touch, maybe he can explain to his sister why it’s a _good_ idea to run away from home,” Jessica says.

“Wait,” Hank says. He’s out of the loop, but there’s good reason for that. “Does Wanda think Pietro ran away? No wonder she’s not coming after him!”

“What?” Luke and Bobbi say.

“You too?” Hank says. “No, no, no. Magneto tossed him on his tail. Never liked him, I think! Wolverine picked him up and brought him home because he didn’t seem likely to live, otherwise. He certainly didn’t run away, although he may have had good reason.”

Jess says, “Shit. Do we tell Wanda that or not?”

“Don’t ask me,” Carol says, disgusted with the whole thing. “I don’t specialize in feelings.”

Bobbi restrains herself with great effort and says, “I think she should know. If we don’t tell her, we should at least make sure Pietro knows she _doesn’t.”_

“Assuming we can find him and get him to meet with her at all,” Jess points out.

“I’m sure he’ll be reasonable,” T’Challa says. “He loves his sister, does he not?”

“That’s what they say,” Danny says dubiously. T’Challa frowns.

“Well, hey, I can let him know you called when they get back,” Hank says. “I don’t know what he’ll says, and I just don’t know about your plan, but best of luck!”

“Ugh,” Carol says. “Yes, fine, thank you, Hank. We appreciate it.” She leans in and cuts the connection. “Now what?” she asks her team.

“We wait,” Luke says. “Like the man said.” He just hopes that if all this pans out, Pietro and Wanda don’t make each other _more_ unstable. These things are always a gamble.

“I came back to the house for _this?”_ Jessica says. Jess pats her arm, too solidly for it to be annoying.

“I say we go and find Pietro on his little retreat,” Carol says. “This is time-sensitive; let’s speed things up.”

“Hey, didn’t you hear Hank?” Jessica says. “Speaking of sensitive, so is Quicksilver. We better make sure you don’t talk to him first, Carol.”

“ _Excuse_ me?” Carold demands.

“Come on,” Bobbi says. “You have to admit most of us aren’t that people-friendly.”

“I am friendly,” T’Challa says. “When I speak.” Danny nods in agreement. “Luke is friendly too,” T’Challa adds.

“I think I could talk to the kid,” Luke says. “You know, talking to people isn’t that hard. You just treat ‘em like people.”

Carol huffs out an annoyed little breath. If Luke starts pulling his bullshit routine about being nice and overcoming obstacles while making sideways references to her blow-up with Jessica, she’ll kill him.

Jessica mutters, “That advice doesn’t work on the _inhuman.”_ Soon, she thinks, Carol’s going to yell at her again, and she’ll have the pleasure of leaving early a second time.

Carol bristles. “Inhuman?” she snaps. “Yeah, that doesn’t mean much coming from you.”

“Yeah,” Jessica says too reasonably. “I meant me.”

She didn’t, but she should have, maybe, and she’d like to derail Carol above anything else. Possibly, she reflects, this situation is getting a little out of hand.

“Ladies!” Danny says.

Carol hesitates, thrown. “Wait, you know I meant—those nasty pheromones that make you impossible to be around and all that. I didn’t mean—Jesus _Christ.”_

Honestly, Jessica doesn’t care _what_ Carol means—any part of her past, anything about her body. All of it is Jessica, isn’t it?

“Forget it,” Jessica says. “Are we going to find some Avengers or whatever?”

“I can almost certainly help,” T’Challa says, helpfully.

“I can talk to Pietro,” Luke says again, dubiously. He’s starting to think his whole calm and reasonable thing might be wasted on Maximoffs.

“And I’ll only repel one out of three Avengers due to my terrible pheremones,” Jessica says.

Danny says, “Maybe some of us could stay home.”

That is fine by Jessica, because she doesn’t really want to see Black Widow. They had some crossover working for HYDRA, and it’s uncomfortable, wondering how much they know about each other that neither of them wants anyone to know.

“I’ll stay home,” Bobbi says, with relief that surprises Jessica by how much it matches her own feelings.

“I’m going, of course,” Carol says. “I’m the leader, after all.” And she wants to see what the Avengers think they’re doing slacking off.

“I’m fine staying put,” Jessica says. Danny nods.

Jess says, “Okay, guys. What about me, Carol, Luke, and T’Challa? Sound good?”

“Perfect,” Luke says. He smiles at her. That’s three people to balance Carol out. Should be enough. He hopes.

“Excellent!” says T’Challa. “I will contact my home so they can locate the Avengers for us.”

“You can do that?" Danny says. “Isn’t that kind of…creepy?”

“I do not think so,” T’Challa says. “We have already been told where they are, and our motives are very good.”

“Creepy or _useful,”_ Carol says. “Thank God somebody’s on the damn ball. Although I wish we had known about this before.” She knows she could have asks her pals in the military for help before this, but, if she’s honest, the Avengers aren’t the kind of people her pals in the military always manage to keep a close eye on, even when they want to. As it is, they only sit around for a quarter of an hour before someone on the Wakandan end lets them know that Quicksilver, Hawkeye and Black Widow are (for reasons unknown), wandering around Belfast.

“Really fairly creepy,” Danny says.

“What the fuck is in Belfast?” Carol demands, but the Wakandans don’t have the kind of answer to that which could be useful to her. “Okay, fine, let’s get out there ASAP. We’ve waited around long enough for this situation to go sour.”

Luke grimaces. He’s not sure many people on this team have anyone else’s best interests at heart. Carol and Jessica are both too angry. If they don’t sort out the shit between them (and probably a whole lot of extra shit that has nothing to do with each other), the team’s gonna fall apart in a month. Never mind what’s gonna happen to Wanda Maximoff.

“We’ll make it fast, then,” he says.


	3. pietro maximoff does not want this help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What the fuck do you want?” Pietro says tightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER WARNINGS: racism/mutants are an allegory, references to suicidal ideation and self-harm

Clint, Natasha, and Pietro are eating a late breakfast at a restaurant on Botanic Ave. Belfast is nice, and nicer because Pietro seems to be almost enjoying himself like a normal person. For the first week he was back, when he’d moved into the tower, he’d looked awful. Constantly, all the time awful. Clint had been kind of afraid that he was more of a suicide risk than when he’d showed up on their door the first time. And apparently Clint wasn’t the only one worried, because when Tony and Steve packed up and booked it to Latveria for some R&R, they left behind orders that Nat and Clint figure out something to do with Pietro and do it fast. So Nat and Clint put together a list of places that might be interesting enough to hold the kid’s interest without freaking him out, and now they’ve taken him on a trip.

Most of the modes of transport, so far, have been more or less legal.

For the first three or four days of their tour, Pietro wasn’t better. He was still quiet and upset, and Clint had gotten the feeling he was trying to keep still, which, Clint thinks, is probably pretty close to self-harm for Pietro. It was not comfortable to watch. They’ve been on the move for over a week, though, and now Pietro is at least part-time perking up. Which is good. Not exactly a sure thing, but good.

Which is why Clint is not hugely thrilled when a small group of vaguely familiar people show up at their breakfast table. Clint takes his cues from Natasha. He watches her tense, reach for her boot, and then relax, fractionally, and he decides not to attack them.

“I hope we’re not interrupting,” one of them says. Tall, blond, stacked, _oh._ Clint remembers this. Carol Danvers. Obnoxious friend of Tony. This is _Mockingbird’_ new team.

“You are interrupting, a little,” Clint says.

“Prancing around Europe eating out and not answering your phones,” Carol says. “Nice to be an Avenger.”

“I hope you have a point, Ms. Marvel,” Natasha says flatly. “Or it would be a long way to fly.”

“I do,” Carol says, annoyed. “I need to talk to you.”

“No,” Natasha says immediately. This is not the relaxation they’ve brought Pietro out here for. Besides, she dislikes Carol. 

T’Challa leans forward politely.

“We have been trying to make contact with your team for several weeks,” he says. “I admit this attempt is one of desperation. If it were not, we should not bother you this way.”

“So what’re you so desperate about?” Clint asks, unsmiling. Ms. Marvel, Black Panther—the other ones must be Luke Cage and the one who’s dating Luke Cage. One of the ones. The girl one. Jessica? No, but that’s Spider-Woman.

“Wanda Maximoff,” Luke says, which stalls out Clint’s train of thought. Clint looks at Pietro, who is closer to motionless than Clint has seen him yet. His smug, mostly relaxed expression is frozen into something uncomfortably raw.

“My name is Luke Cage,” Luke says. “I’m on Carol’s team. We’re worried about your sister.”

“What the fuck do you want?” Pietro says tightly.

“Oh, no, honey!” Jess says. “It’s not like that.”

“What’s it like?” Pietro says flatly.

“For one thing,” Carol says, “we don’t think she’s any safer with your father than you were.” Pietro blanches. Carol hates kids. _Hates_ them. How do people talk to kids? How old _is_ Pietro? And now Jessica can’t even be blamed for the fact that Carol is on edge.

“She wants to talk to you,” Luke says. “We know she does. But she doesn’t think you want to talk to her. It would be good to get you guys in the same place.”

“Yeah, well, she’s an _adult,_ and not being in the same place is her choice, not mine,” Pietro says. It’s weird, that she can abandon him like this and he still can’t stop defending her for a second. “So I dunnowhyyou’re talking to me. Not that it’s any of your fucking business anyway.”

“Can I sit?” Luke asks. At Natasha’s eventual nod, he does. The others realize they’re standing in the middle of a restaurant and sit down quickly at the next table. A waitress starts toward them, but Jess holds up a _one more minute_ finger and smiles her away.

“It is her choice,” Luke says, “but what are the odds she’s really making an informed decision? If you two have a chat it might clear things up for both of you. It seemed like she wasn’t necessarily working with the facts when we talked to her.”

“You what?” Pietro says.

“We had a chat with Wanda,” Jess says. “We promised to bring a message to her from you, and she promised to consider leaving Genosha.”

“ _How?”_ Pietro demands. 

“We went to Genosha,” says T’Challa. 

“You’re fucking stupid,” says Pietro.

“A little fucking stupid,” Luke agrees, ignoring Carol’s _that’s not professional_ look. “But we did talk to her. I think she misses you as much as you miss her, if that’s a helluva lot.”

“Yeah? Not according to the letter I got a couple weeks ago,” Pietro says. “I think maybe she’s fine where she is.” He looks almost as gray as the sky outside. Clint wonders whether it’s time to step in, but Natasha is holding back. For the moment, he does as well.

“Ah,” says T’Challa. “We may have spurred the writing of that letter. Luke delivered one such missive to your tower.”

Pietro stares at them, open-mouthed. “Well, _thanks,”_ he says. “That totally didn’t trigger one of the worst days of my life. Jesus fuck, I can see why you’re not the superheroes they put on the front page.”

Luke swears under his breath. Carol fidgets, wanting very badly to say something unpleasant, but she knows this is why she has a specialized team of people with her who are good at talking to babies.

“We didn’t know what she wrote,” Jess says. “We didn’t read it.”

“I’m sorry, man,” Luke says. 

“Don’t call me that,” says Pietro automatically. “Listen, even if Wanda misses me, she agrees with Magneto and his fucked up world view, so I don’t know what you think you’re gonna accomplish dragging her off Genosha.” 

“Not much,” Clint suggests.

Pietro says, “If she stops looking to you like a pity case and starts looking like your next supervillain, I’ll fucking kill you.”

“That isn’t what we want,” Jess says.

“That isn’t at _all_ what we want,” Luke agrees. He’s glad Carol isn’t saying anything, although he can feel her getting angry. 

“Okay,” Pietro says. “So if you’re not worried she’s gonna be a danger to you and non-mutant-kind, why exactly do you care where she is? She’s not your family, and neither am I. There are enough other people out there who need help and no one gives a shit, maybe you should be dealing with them. Also, just out of interest, are you _another_ superhero team that just has to get involved in mutant business even though they don’t need any mutants on their team?”

That’s half aimed at the Avengers, but Clint doesn’t take offense. They’re working on it, and they’re getting better about it, and Clint knows it. So, more importantly, does Pietro.

Luke says quietly, “ _I_ give a shit about the others.”

“Argh,” Carol says. “Listen, sunshine, it’s a little hard to get mutants on our team when they all get like _this_ about it.”

“Oh my god!” says Pietro brightly. “My cue to leave.”

Natasha nods, and takes out a billfold to put money on the table. It’s not the kind of place where you leave money at the table, but it looks as though they’re about to.

“No, wait,” Jess says. “Please. We messed up, and it probably isn’t our business, but we promised we’d bring your sister a message from you. We’ve been trying to contact you for weeks.”

“Like we said,” Luke says. “If we weren’t desperate we wouldn’t be here.”

Pietro hesitates, half standing up from the table.

“She wants to see you,” Jess says. “I don't know if she’ll agree with you or not, but she does want to see you.”

“I told her twenty-four hours, weeks ago,” Luke says. “I was an idiot.”

Pietro swallows. “Does somebody have a pen?” he asks. Clint holds one out. Pietro grabs the napkin and scribbles a line of messy print across it. He folds it in fours and hands it to Luke. “Give her that, then,” he says.

Luke nods and takes it. “Thank you. Really.”

Natasha says, “You should be careful. Your team. If Magneto finds you, it will be bad for everyone.”

“That’s for sure,” Jess agrees.

“We will be careful,” T’Challa tells them.

“Thanks for your time,” Carol says stiffly as Luke gets up to go. “Let’s get the hell out of here,” she mutters to the others. They book it off down the street and catch an awkward, crowded cab back to the little city airport, where T’Challa has fortunately convinced air traffic control he is allowed to land. The only thing that will be better about getting on board, Carol thinks, is that it will not be raining and they’ll be going somewhere else.

Once they’re gone, Natasha puts down her money, picks up her tea cup and says, “We’re better than that, Pietro, yes?”

“So much better,” Pietro says. His shoulders slump. “Guess that’s the end of vacation. You guys wanna head back home? I can go ahead to Latveria on my own. Promise I’ll call when I get there and everything.”

“You won’t go to Genosha?” Natasha asks, because she is more willing to be the bad guy than Clint is.

“No,” Pietro says. “I won’t.”

“Good,” Natasha says. She is proud of him, truly. She only hopes he can hold on to what he’s gained, in the face of whatever his family is about to bring him.

“Sweet,” Pietro says. “Then I’ll be off. You got the bill?” He takes off, before Natasha and Clint can say otherwise.


	4. pietro maximoff stops the fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He tries not to sound like a concerned uncle or something equally revolting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: recent trauma, eating peasants?, bad families

What’s weirdest, on this already pretty darn weird vacation with Tony, is when Tony and Loki hole themselves up with a project or talk about whatever it is they have to talk about, and Steve ends up doing things like taking walks with Doctor Doom. Today he and Doctor Doom ( _Victor_ ) are taking a walk in the woods. Periodically they’re being stalked by Fenrir. Steve has been waiting for a gap in Fenrir’s appearances that’s long enough to be safe; when it comes, he interrupts their talk about HYDRA’s inadequacies to say, “So, if you don’t mind—how’s this fatherhood deal taking you? I wouldn’t have thought it was...well, what you hoped for.”

Victor grimaces. “What I hoped for? I had given up hoping for anything like a family since I lost mine as a child. And now I have Loki and his brood. It’s not what I hoped for, but it is better.”

Steve laughs, a little forced. “I suppose that’s a valuable life lesson,” he says.

“Isn’t it?” Victor asks. “I don’t suppose you bargained for Stark, either.”

“Not at all,” Steve agrees. He spots Fenrir again, ghosting among the trees some thirty yards away, just a flicker between the trunks.

“They’re good,” Victor muses. “In their ways. They keep to themselves, but they’re affectionate. The best children one could ask for, really.” He doesn’t mention Sleipnir’s temper or Fenrir’s nastiness.

“Are you sad you missed that one as a puppy?” Steve asks, gesturing towards Fenrir’s shadow. “He probably could have chewed through your armor.”

“He takes after his mother in that regard,” Victor says dryly. “Oh well. He keeps the peasant population down. Ha.”

“Erm,” says Steve.

“You have no sense of humor,” Victor says. “Shall I ask how you’re recovering from your traumas?”

“I’d rather you didn’t,” Steve says. “But since you have—today is going well. I think it’s all going well. Better than I expected.”

“You look healthy enough. You both do.” Victor can hear distant hoof-beats, and he smiles behind the mask. “And when will we see Pietro next?” He tries not to sound like a concerned uncle or something equally revolting.

“I’m surprised you’d ask me,” Steve says. “He’s much more attached to you two than he is to the Avengers, teammates and all.”

Victor allows his heart to be quietly warmed by this. “However, he is still an Avenger. And despite anyone’s efforts to the contrary, I am still a morally questionable scientist and witch.”

“Natasha and Clint didn’t give us an itinerary,” Steve says. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they make a stop here. I think it would take a lot for that kid to give up on you.”

“Hm,” Victor says. “I don’t know what I did to warrant that.” He’s not being coy; he truly doesn’t know. But he’s glad of it.

“I don’t know either,” Steve says. “But you could try asking. I think he tends to lay his cards on the table.”

Victor makes a note of it, but he says, “He should learn to be more discreet. Though, perhaps there’s no need; he is strong.” He has to be, to have made it this far.

“Scrappy,” Steve says, thinking of Bucky. He doesn’t know that you can get people like that to learn circumspection without damaging who they are. “I don’t think it’s hard to hurt him, but he sure does keep going.”

“I only associate with the best sort of people,” Victor mutters.

“I think we share a type,” Steve agrees. “Although we might differ in the particulars.”

“I never thought I’d have anything in common with you,” Victor says, not with as much distaste as he might. “How is he? Stark? He looks well, but every time I try to talk to him, he goes and hides away with Loki.”

“I think he’s afraid you’ll take issue and try to tear them apart from one another,” Steve says with a grin. “But I don’t think you’d try.”

“I might,” Victor says darkly, mostly out of embarrassment. His affection for Loki is too colossal to hide. “But I suppose I’m happy Loki has a companion for his experiments. We don’t always work well together in that regard.”

Steve nods noncommittally, and runs out of things to say. He looks around for inspiration. Mushrooms? He could ask about mushrooms.

But there’s a delighted yelp from Fenrir, hiding in the trees, and a whirlwind of kicked-up leaves, and suddenly Pietro is in front of them, pink-faced and catching his breath.

“Hi, Cap,” he says. “Hi, Victor.”

Victor laughs, charmed. “We were just talking about you,” he says. “I was wondering when I’d see you again. You haven’t lost track of your babysitters, have you?” Pietro looks better than the last time Victor saw him, by quite a lot.

“They’re heading home,” Pietro says. “There’s kind of a problem.”

“What kind of problem?” Steve asks.

“Do you know a Ms. Marvel?” Pietro asks dubiously.

“Maybe we should get Tony,” Steve says.

“Is that the militaristic alien-chaser?” Victor asks. He hasn’t heard that they’ve _found_ any aliens; in fact, he recalls that the official enterprise has lost funding. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t a threat to people like him. “What does she want? And what can Stark do about it?”

“She’s Tony’s friend,” Steve says. “And hey, buddy, there’s nothing inherently wrong with the military.”

“And that’s why you’re still in it, right?” Pietro says, and then looks abashed. “Um, anyway. She and her team showed up while we were having breakfast. They, um. Snuck into Genosha and promised my sister I'd be her penpal. I think they wanted her to leave Genosha, but obviously that didn’t go over too well.”

Steve’s brow furrows.

“I don’t want—I think it’ll be worse if I don’t help, now, so I—I guess I am. If she wants.” Pietro looks at them anxiously.

Victor lands on something he can help with. “If Magneto becomes a problem, I’m willing to do whatever you need,” he says. “I hope it doesn’t come to that, but he is one of my least favorite people—regardless of your feelings, Pietro—and if it would help you or your sister I’d be happy to deal with him.”

Victor hates Magneto’s holier-than-thou attitude almost as much as he hates his power. 

“Oh, god,” says Pietro feelingly, looking Victor up and down. Victor is possibly not the person best equipped to handle Magneto.

“We should really find Tony,” Steve says.

“Agreed,” Victor says. He’d question Stark’s taste in friends, but that would reflect somewhat poorly on present company.

When they’ve made their way back to the house, Tony is already outside, testing a small, tubular device that’s giving off sparks.

“Pietro!” he says, looking up.

“Er, hi,” says Pietro. “You’re not enjoying yourself, are you?” 

Loki sticks her head out the door. Her sleeves are pushed up and she’s holding something that looks oily and terrible.

“Not a _bit,”_ she lies cheerfully.

“Okay,” Pietro says.

“It’s a teleporter,” Loki says. “Obviously.”

“Tony,” Steve interrupts. “We have trouble. With Ms. Marvel.”

Tony groans. “Oh, no. Why, what did she do?” He likes Carol a lot, but she’s at least as difficult as he is.

“Apparently she and her team have been sneaking into Genosha to try to _rescue_ Pietro’s sister,” Steve says.

“Shit,” Tony says. “Okay. I know their team is into taking risks, but that could practically start a war.”

“All Erik has ever wanted is war,” Victor says dismissively. “If he does take offense and attack someone, it’s not worth getting concerned over.”

There’s a sort of uncomfortable pause.

“From…what I understand,” Steve says, checking with Pietro, “that all depends on where he’s got his pieces. And how many of them there are.”

“Yeah, well,” says Pietro. “He’s got a whole country.”

“So what matters is making sure Wanda and Carol’s team are all kept out of trouble,” Tony says quickly. He should really give her a call. _Soon._

“They’re kind of using me as bait, also,” Pietro adds.

“What? How about _no?”_ Tony says. “Damn it, I’m calling Carol right the hell now. She should know better.” Which is a thing people are supposed to say, but Tony doesn’t think she _does_ know better.

“Can’t get me out of it,” Pietro says. “ They promised Wanda I’d talk to her. I can’t not.”

“Well, that’s a shitty situation, then,” Tony says. “All I can say is, she’d better be nice to you.”

Pietro shrugs. “Anyway. They said they’d been trying to call us for a couple weeks. Which probably means other people are looking for us too, right? Vacation over.”

Tony sighs. “Vacation over. Can we put this on the back burner, Loki?”

Loki, who has been looking increasingly displeased, shrugs and sets down the oily thing.

“I suppose so,” she says. “Did you say Black Widow and Barton went on without you?”

“Yeah,” Pietro says. “Slowly.”

“Then you might as well come in for a few minutes and sit down while Tony and Mr. Rogers get their things. I’ll take you home.”

“I can get everything,” Steve says to Tony. “If you wanted to call Carol?” First Fenrir’s rescue and now this visit. Terrible, skewing things have happened to Steve’s perspective on Loki. He thinks it’s got to be a big part of it that _she’s_ better adjusted, and not just that Steve is more used to her. Him. Whoever.

“Good thought,” Tony says. “I’ll check in.” He’s actually pretty worried. Carol can be a good leader, and she’s usually great at making plans, but sometimes her temper gets ahead of her.

“Just so you know,” Pietro says, fast and slightly garbled. “I think they’re why Wanda wrotemethatletter. You know, the day that—”

Loki narrows her eyes. “I don’t mind killing people,” she says.

Tony’s eyes narrow, too. “Be right back,” he says.


	5. carol and tony have a little chat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Tony!” she says. “ _Finally._ Where the hell have you been?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: references to past rape/assault, victim blaming

Tony takes a few steps away from the castle as the others go inside. He pulls out his phone and calls Carol. She answers after a few rings, in a low voice.

“Tony!” she says. “ _Finally._ Where the hell have you been?”

“Latveria,” Tony says without thinking. “Pietro just found me.”

“Pym was telling the _truth?”_ Carol demands. “What are you thinking? Vacationing with supervillains? I thought you might be shirking your duty, but this is something _else.”_ She thinks she’s being fairly generous on this last point; the Avengers are _definitely_ shirking their duty.

“A lot of stuff has gone down with Doom and Loki since the last time we talked,” Tony says, trying to be patient. “But it’s beside the point. What’s this about busting into Magneto’s stronghold and bugging his kid?”

“We’re trying to prevent a cataclysm,” Carol says. “Obviously. Have you heard any of the rumors? At the most optimistic estimate, Wanda Maximoff is an atomic bomb, with Magneto’s thumb on the controls.”

“He’s not stupid,” Tony says. “He’s been doing this longer than either of us. He’s not going to take that risk.”

“You really think that?” Carol says. “Tony. I usually respect you. Magneto doesn’t want peace, he never has! If he wants things to get ugly, they’re going to get really ugly. And he’s going to want it.”

Tony, because he keeps tabs on everyone, has been keeping tabs on Wanda Maximoff. If she’s as powerful as everyone says, things could get more than ugly. Whatever Magneto thinks, Wanda doesn’t sound like someone who can be controlled.

“Okay,” Tony says, not really wanting to push it. It’s not the point. “Never mind that, what are you going to do when Magneto catches you?”

“He’s not going to catch us,” Carol snaps. “We got in fine before, and we can do it again. And if Wanda wants to come with us of her own free will, that’s her right.”

“What if she doesn’t?” Tony asks. “You just got done telling me how dangerous this girl is. Are you willing to back off if she asks you to?”

Carol barely hesitates. “If she won’t come with us, she’s a threat,” she says. “One of the big ones. I’m not prepared to let that lie.”

Tony grits his teeth and counts back from ten. “ _Okay,_ Carol. You’re in a worse mood than usual.”

“Think of it as a by-product of being the only superhero team that’s actually trying to do any damn good,” Carol whisper-barks. “What threats have you handled in the last two weeks? Or don’t you know, because you’re not taking any messages on your little vacation?”

“Actually,” Tony snaps, “we were taking some time off after a bunch of us were assaulted by Obadiah Stane.”

“He’s dead,” Carol snaps back immediately, and then derails, a few seconds too late.

Tony shuts his eyes and takes a few deep breaths. “He came back,” he says quietly. “He almost killed Steve. He seduced Pietro, and the poor kid—That’s why we’re not taking messages. Okay?”

This is not the kind of thing Carol is good at dealing with, and she feels completely blindsided by it in the bargain.

“Didn’t you give Quicksilver any background on your villains?” she asks automatically, the most tidy-minded response she can muster. “No _don’t sleep with this one?”_

As if Tony didn’t feel bad enough. “My fault,” he says. “I should have. But I thought he was gone. He was _dead._ And I—a lot of stuff came up, I was having trouble even talking about him.” Turns out he still is. “He didn’t even look the same.”

“Okay,” Carol says. She _hates_ when Tony gets like this. “Fine. Bad things happened. You’re back online now, right? Listen, we’re borrowing Pietro just to have a talk with his sister. I promise it’ll be totally safe.”

“You can’t promise that,” Tony says. “Your team is untried and you’ve already said Wanda is dangerous.”

Carol bristles. “We’re not untried,” she says. “If anything, it’s Pietro that’s the risky aspect of this whole plan. We’re not completely deaf to common knowledge, you know. I'm aware that Obadiah wasn’t the first bad choice he’s ever made.”

“ _Hey,”_ Tony says viciously. Then he lowers his voice, glancing back at the others. “You don’t ever say that about my friends, okay? The poor kid was a wreck, and he got sucked into some bad stuff. Do I talk shit about your sex life? Being an incredibly repressed lesbian isn’t exactly respectable.”

Carol gapes so intensely that she thinks Tony can probably hear it.

“We’ve only tried to help,” she says loudly, and tries hard not to think about Jessica.

“Well, you need to think a little harder about whether it’s actually helping,” Tony says, frustrated. “That letter Wanda wrote? It nearly got Pietro killed.”

“What?” Carol says dumbly. “How could that possibly…?”

“He thought she didn’t want him,” Tony says. “So he ran straight into Obie’s arms, and it just spiraled from there. He could have ended up anywhere. He almost ended up at the bottom of a cliff.”

“That’s not my—” Carol starts, but she doesn’t believe in shirking responsibility like that, not really. She just didn’t know, and none of this is going how she’d planned. After weeks of frustration she thought she had the moral high ground. “I didn’t know,” she says. “I—never saw the letter.”

“I know opening people’s mail is a federal offense,” Tony says, “but you should have checked.”

“Shit,” Carol says. “So, what? What do you want us to do? We’re halfway to Genosha on a jet. Pietro _did_ give us a message for Wanda. I don’t think failing to ever show up is going to win the human side any points with her. Or Pietro’s side, either.”

Tony grits his teeth. “Okay, at this point I guess following through is better. But _be careful._ If you can’t get out safely, contact us.” He hopes this is the right call. It has to be. He’s the leader.

Carol mutters her response, because Tony Stark may be her friend and her equal ( _may_ be her equal), but he’s not her boss. Still—she’s screwed this one up. You take some knocks.

“Just be careful,” Tony says. “How’s the team, by the way? Doing okay?” 

“Fine,” Carol snaps. “I mean, everyone pulls their weight. It doesn’t get too obnoxious with Danny and Jess and Luke and their—relationship. Black Panther is extremely professional, as is Mockingbird.”

That sounds pretty much like what Tony expected to hear. Except one person is missing. “What about Jessica Drew?”

Carol becomes keenly aware that she’s hiding in the not entirely soundproof bathroom of a Wakandan jet, and that even if they let go of her not entirely glowing commentary on their sex lives, they’ll probably be at her throat if she says what she wants to about Jessica.

“Things are slightly tense,” she says finally.

Tony sighs. He was afraid of that. He doesn’t know Jessica very well, but he’d figured she and Carol might clash. Since they both clash with almost everyone else.

“She’s okay, I think,” he says. “I mean, she’s good at what she does.”

“I know that. We just don’t fit together very well,” Carol says, then chokes on her breath, feeling horrified at her choice of words.

Tony frowns. “Is everything okay?” Carol sounds like death. Uncomfortable, angry death.

“I can’t talk about this right now, Tony,” Carol grates. “How about we get some coffee after this Magneto thing is dealt with?” Or maybe Magneto will kill them, and she won’t have to deal with it.

“Deal,” Tony says. “Good luck, okay? Don’t die. I need you.”

“Ugh,” says Carol. “I know you do. Next time don’t yell as much.” She hangs up, before he can.

~

But of course everything has to go wrong. Pietro Maximoff is a snot-nosed brat, and the Avengers are all snobs, and when Carol’s team go back to Genosha with Pietro’s message, Magneto catches them before they even land their stupid plane. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY FOR THE LONG PAUSE, GUYS. Rabbits ate our internet. I'd send you a pic to show it happened, but the cable guy took away the cable, according to his name.


	6. wanda is taking a little trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Too close_ is where Wanda’s always been, until recently, and she never minded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: mutants are an allegory, bad families, mental illness

Wanda isn’t surprised when her guests don’t come back in the promised twenty-four hours. It doesn’t matter to her whether they went back on their word or got held up; she doesn’t want to see them again.

 _But it would be nice to know what’s happening with Pietro,_ her mind whispers. 

The thought has been niggling at her, more and more since those so-called superheroes sneaked into her room. She’s pretty sure they weren’t bluffing, saying Pietro is messed up. She knows, because she and Pietro are usually on the same page.

But she isn’t thinking about Pietro and she isn’t thinking abut her visitors when her father calls her to him, standing on one of the balconies of his colossal house. The sun is setting, which is more beautiful on Genosha than almost anywhere in the world.

Magneto’s eyes don’t turn from it as he says, “Wanda, my dear. You nearly received some guests today. They have informed me it is not their first visit.”

“What?” Wanda says. Then, realizing, “Oh. I should have told you—What happened to them?”

“At the moment? They’re being held. Oh, but never fear, I’ll let them go in an hour or two, once they’ve learned their lesson.” He turns to her. “I believe they’ve been conspiring to reunite you with your brother?” He is expressionless.

Wanda’s stomach flips, but she doesn’t say anything. She can’t figure out what he wants her to say. Finally, she tries, “What do you want me to do?”

“Well, my dear,” Magneto says. “If you wish to see Pietro, though I can’t think why you would, then I wouldn’t think to stop you from doing so. No trespassing, interfering humans needed.” He smiles at her.

Wanda feels frozen. She still can’t figure out the right answer, but it matters less the more she thinks about it. She _needs_ to see Pietro. She needs to at least _know._

“I don’t really want to see him,” she says carefully, “but maybe just for a minute. Just to see how he’s doing.” She looks at Magneto hopefully.

“Of course,” Magneto says. His hands are clasped together behind his back. He’s the picture of calm. “I hadn’t realized you were concerned, or naturally I would have told you to go sooner. Indeed, the only reason I haven’t suggested it myself is that I thought you might be hurt by the suddenness of his exodus. That, and—well, I have heard one or two rumors about him of late, and I...fear you may not find much left of the sibling you loved.”

Wanda swallows. “Really?” she asks. “What do you mean?” She knows better than to believe rumors, but if Magneto’s saying it, it’s probably true.

Magneto frowns and stares into the sunset. “I don’t like to say,” he answers. “But be careful near him, Wanda. Everything I’ve heard leads me to believe he’s self-destructed, and I have no doubt he would pull you down with him if you got too close.”

 _Too close_ is where Wanda’s always been, until recently, and she never minded. 

“I won’t,” she promises. “But I do want to see him. Sorry. But I want to know.”

Magneto turns and takes her hands. “Don’t apologize,” he says. “It doesn’t suit my daughter. I hear Pietro is with the Avengers these days. They’re dangerous enough through sheer blind idiocy—I don’t think they’d dare harm you, but will you take a guard? I will send Sabretooth with you.”

Wanda frowns. “Uh—sure, I guess. He won’t attack me or anything?” She doesn’t care what Magneto says. Sabretooth freaks her out.

“No, he won’t, although you’re wise to consider it,” Magneto says. “However—he knows what I’d do to him if he ever touched a hair on your head. He’ll be perfectly good protection against the Avengers, should they become a problem. Or Pietro, for that matter.”

Wanda shivers. “Okay,” she says quietly. She can’t imagine Pietro having changed so much that he’d ever do anything to hurt her. Then again, she couldn’t imagine him running off without her.

“Good girl,” Magneto says, patting her arm. “Now, if you decided you need to stay for longer than a minute—” He pauses to smile. “—let me know, my dear, and send Sabretooth back to me. Yes?” He puts up his hands as if staving off protest. “I only want you have every opportunity to make the best choices.”

“Thanks,” Wanda says. “I’ll do that.” She doesn’t like talking to her father. She always feels as though she’s looking for cracks in his logic, or in his kindness, but they’re never there.

“Good girl,” Magneto says again, and turns back to the horizon.

~

Everyone they can find is back to the tower by evening. Clint and Natasha have done something probably illegal to get home, Steve and Tony and Pietro had help from Loki, and it’s easy enough to call Thor and Bruce back from Asgard. Hank isn’t here. Hank had taken one look at the returning Avengers and said, “Thank goodness. I’ve been putting off my Amazon mission for a week! Messages from Ms. Marvel for you in your workroom, Tony.” And then he’d flown away. 

They have their meeting over Chinese takeout in the rec room, the surprise package and all of Hank’s meticulous notes sitting between them.

“So I obviously have to go,” Pietro says, stabbing a piece of sweet and sour chicken straight through with a chopstick.

“Sounds like they were pushy with Hank,” says Tony. “And I know they were with me, but I’m not sure it’s a great idea.”

“ _I_ would go,” Thor says.

“I think it’s up to Pietro,” Natasha says. “But for what it’s worth, I agree with Tony. What did Ms. Marvel tell you, Tony?”

Tony sighs, annoyed. “She wants to do everything short of tramping over to Magneto’s private island with all guns blazing. She’s not being careful enough. But I don’t think that has to play into whether Pietro talks to his sister.”

“Point of interest,” Bruce says. “Magneto may be unhappy with us already.”

“He may?” Tony asks. “Wait, why?”

Thor makes a grumpy sound, and Bruce looks apologetic.

“It wasn’t an Avengers project, but I doubt he cares,” Bruce says, slightly sheepish, mostly aggravated. “A little girl and her parents asked me for help a while back because her powers were self-destructive, and they were having trouble getting anywhere with the Brotherhood or Xavier. Magneto found out I was _suppressing a mutant._ He had a shout at me about it a couple of weeks ago.”

“You didn’t mention—” Tony says. 

Bruce looks slightly more apologetic. Pietro says, “This kid—you sure it was her idea?”

“I wouldn’t have taken the job if I weren’t,” Bruce says. “The kid’s acidic. Her toys melted, she couldn’t wear clothes. She was wrecking the house. Her parents couldn’t hug her. She didn’t know how to control it and they were desperate, but she didn’t want to be apart from them.” He sighs. “Any suggestion of that and she lost it. All it all it seemed worth the risk of being an interfering creep.”

“Too bad that apparently wasn’t the entire risk,” Clint says.

Jan says, “It’s not Bruce’s fault!”

“Doesn’t mean it’s not a problem!”

“Everyone, calm down,” Tony says. He’s mostly annoyed with himself that he missed this. “Bruce’s side projects, as far as I’m concerned, aren’t Avengers business.”

Steve frowns. “But they could affect us.”

“Steve’s right,” Bruce says. He scrubs his hair. “Which is why I brought it up. I don’t know that there’s anything I can do about it, though.”

“Great,” Pietro says, looking deeply unhappy. It’s already obvious that any part of any plan that involves Wanda is going to blow up into a giant disaster. He’s not _ready_ for this. “We’re totally going to start the mutant-human war,” he says. “This is so what I wanted.”

“We need a plan,” Natasha says, laying her hand on Pietro’s arm. “Something...quiet.”

“We better stop Ms. Marvel’s team, then,” Jan says. “I don’t think she’s going for quiet.” She doesn’t know Carol Danvers very well, mostly just by reputation—but her reputation is for being what Jan would politely call _intense._

“Ha ha,” Tony says flatly. “Stop Carol? I lectured her and she just got mad.”

“Maybe we could talk to someone else on the team,” Steve suggests. 

“I could just go to Genosha before they have the chance,” Pietro says. 

Clint stops flicking grains of sticky rice at the surprise package and says, “No. Way. You’re supposed to be _done_ with trying to get people to kill you.”

Pietro glares at him.

“Sorry, kiddo,” Jan agrees. “You’re not going to get group approval on that one. Besides, Wolverine would totally murder us.”

“So don’t ask him his opinion,” Steve says. “Pietro’s an adult. If he wants to try to diffuse the situation, I think we should let him.”

Pietro stares at him. “Yeah,” he says, slowly, for Pietro. “My dad might hate my guts but at least I’m not pitting human against mutant by showing up on Genosha.”

“Yeah, but what if he tries to _kill you?”_ Clint says again. “Listen, we have this history, as a team, of our friends and family trying to kill us. Right? I feel like this is an incredibly stupid move.”

“ _I_ feel like no one’s asking your opinions on being smart,” Pietro snaps.

“Given the options,” says Steve, leaning forward, “it might be our best bet. It’s not ideal, but I think Pietro can get in and get out without any sort of disaster.”

“We can provide backup,” Natasha says. And then more moodily, “Or Ms. Marvel’s team could.”

“She’ll be dealing with worse problems than her own temper if she marches her team in there and gets caught,” Bruce says.

“That sounds _so weird_ coming from you,” says Clint.

“But he’s right,” says Tony. “The only one of them Magneto has a real reason not to kill is Black Panther. Killing a king could be messy. But—”

“My father isn’t going to kill anyone,” says a light voice. Pietro freezes, staring at the doorway.

“Is there _anybody_ in your family who doesn’t do that?” Clint asks. He’s staring, too.

“Wanda,” Pietro says hoarsely. “Whatareyoudoinghere?” He’s vibrating with tension, badly enough that everyone can see it.

“How did you get through…?” Tony starts. 

“Oh,” Wanda says, embarrassed, “my powers can—Pietro, can we talk?” She’s immediately sorry that she came at all. This is just too weird, and all the Avengers are staring at her.

“Yeah, of course,” Pietro says, and then realizes he’s halfway into a panic attack. Wanda doesn’t know what’s happened, she can’t know anything that’s happened since he, she can’t _see_ him like—

He knows she means she wants to talk in another room, but Pietro can’t get out of the chair.

“These are—these are the Avengers,” he says helplessly.

He isn't getting up to see her. Wanda is angry and betrayed and confused, but she can see things aren’t right with Pietro. Her flight instinct is kicking in, hard, but she doesn’t want to run away. She doesn’t know if they know how to run together anymore.

“We can talk here,” she says stiffly. “If you feel safer. Around these. People.” She takes a shallow, shaky breath.

“What?” Pietro says, distressed. “No, I’m not—d’you think I’m scared of you or something? I didn’t...” He gives Tony a horrified look. Tony puts a hand on his shoulder.

Wanda bristles. Has Pietro gone totally insane? Or have these people brainwashed him?

“How can you trust them?” she blurts out.

“I,” Pietro says. “I, can we maybe do this alone?” he asks Tony somewhat desperately.

“Of course,” Tony says, frowning. Wanda can see that he clearly doesn’t love the idea that she just walked through his security. She’s a little sorry, but she was in a hurry. “You can use my office, or your room, or anywhere you want.”

“Okay,” says Pietro. "Thanks. I'll." He gets up, fast, and grabs Wanda’s hand before he can think about how weird and frightening and good it feels, and pulls her after him out of the room.


	7. wanda and pietro sit down and talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You trust them, though,” Wanda says. "I can tell."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: bad families, mental illness, references to self-harm and bad sex/dubcon

The door shuts behind Pietro and Wanda, and Pietro catches a breath. “My room’s not far. There’s an elevator. We can—” He starts for the elevator without managing to wait for Wanda’s response.

“Hey,” Wanda says, having to dash after him to keep up. “Hey, wait for me.” Pietro never slows _down,_ but he’s always made space for her. She feels like he’s a stranger. A horribly familiar stranger, who’s carrying around a lot of bad stuff that he shouldn’t be. She can’t remember how much of that is new, which scares her.

“Sorry!” Pietro says. He punches the call button and then turns to give her an anxious smile as the door opens. “Sorry, it’s been, I didn’texpect—we were just talking about how to get to you.” He backs into the elevator, waving arms in his familiar, too-expressive way.

Wanda follows him cautiously. “What do you mean, _get to me?”_ she asks. “Get to me like those fake superheroes wanted to get to me? Take me away from my home?”

The elevator door slides shut and Pietro looks at Wanda like he’s lost. “Those, uh. The other—Ms. Marvel and her gang. They promised I’d talktoyou, right? They didn’t tell me that until today. I mean, I haven’t been—I wasn’t—”

“I don’t like them,” Wanda says quickly. She feels rushed and scared, as though her chance to talk to Pietro like he’s her twin is going to be taken away. “I need to know—You left me. You left me for these _humans._ Why?” The elevator door opens, and Pietro steps out.

“I, uh,” he stumbles. “Can we get to my room, please?”

“Yeah,” Wanda says. “You bet.” She wants to squeeze his hand or tell him it’s okay, but she just follows him.

Pietro nods, too fast. He lets them into his suite. It only barely feels like it’s his—he’s spent half the time since he moved in going somewhere else—but it still feels like a place that’s his and _not_ Wanda’s. Now that she’s standing here and making it obvious, Pietro feels sick. When the door is shut behind them, he can’t talk for a few seconds.

“Do you want something to drink, or...uh. Did you get my note?” He swallows. His body feels too skinny to hold everything, constricting around him till he chokes.

“Um, no,” Wanda says. “No note. I think Ms. Marvel and whoever were trying to talk to me again, but they didn’t make it past Magneto.”

Pietro laughs, sort of. “Oh. Of course. Are they okay?”

“He said he’d let them go.” Wanda shifts uncomfortably, looking around the room. It looks like Pietro, all right. But a Pietro who’s living with the Avengers. “Are you really staying with these people? Are they nice? Are you safe?”

Pietro blinks. “Yeah, I’m staying with them,” he says. “I was staying with, w—someone else for awhile.” Suddenly the thought of Wanda knowing he was _fucking_ Wolverine makes him sick with shame. Everything makes him feel sick. “They’re really nice. They’ve been, they’ve been looking out for me. I like them a lot. How’s—how’s Genosha?”

“Perfect,” Wanda says, not even bitterly. “I mean, I’m lonely and I’m always creeped out because Creed or someone could be watching me, but it’s fine.” A little more bitter.

“Creed.” Pietro scowls. “He’d better not fucking come near you. It’s bad enough with—”

Logan’s business is _not_ Wanda’s. He bites his tongue.

Wanda frowns and doesn't mention that Creed brought her here. She doesn’t know what Pietro was about to say, which is annoying. “I don’t think he would,” she says. “I think Magneto just tells him to keep an eye on me. Pietro, are you really comfortable living with non-mutants?”

“Well, considering they actually _want_ me, they’re looking pretty good,” he says, a little nasty. “Besides, they’re nice, and they do good--”

“ _I_ want you!” Wanda half-shouts, furious and off-guard. 

Pietro gets that look again, the awful heartbroken one he’s been showing her since the second she walked in on the Avengers. “Yeah, right,” he says. “You didn’t come after me. You didn’t even think twice that—” He goes too fast for her, and she misses it.

“You left me!” she shouts. “You had a stupid fight with dad—with Magneto, and you _left!_ You didn’t even try to take me with you. You said you’d never do that! You said—” Her throat hurts. She has to stop, gasping for breath, but it’s startled out of her as Pietro spins and punches the wall, so hard it leaves a dent.

“ _He threw me out,”_ Pietro screams. He should tell her more than that, he should say, _He tried to kill me,_ but Wanda’s feelings matter too much. He’s never going to be able to tell her the whole truth, not about anything ever again.

Wanda pauses, heart pounding. She’s about to say, _That’s not true,_ but she can’t do that to Pietro. She can’t let their relationship be like that.

“Oh,” she says.

“ _Oh,”_ Pietro says viciously, and then his shoulders droop. “Do you even believe me? Do you just believe everything he says, now?”

“I don’t know,” Wanda says honestly. “I don’t—you’ve changed so much. You never used to keep things from me.”

“Stuff happened,” Pietro says in a small voice.

“You can tell me your stuff,” Wanda says. “That’s always been true. Magneto has nothing to do with it. There was _us_ before him.”

Pietro whimpers and slides to the floor, his back to the door and his hands knotted behind his neck.

“God, Wanda,” he whispers. “Please just believe me.” Her disbelief prickles along his arms like knives. He could still find somebody to do that to him.

“Don’t,” she says, sinking to her knees next to him. “Pietro, don’t, don’t look like that. You don’t have to.” She makes a small choked noise. This is her twin. She’s not supposed to make him feel like this. Everyone else does, but not her. “I believe you,” she says.

“Oh, god,” he says again, and sobs. “I didn’t ever want to leave, Wanda, I swear, I just couldn’t get back. He wouldn’t let me come back to you, and I didn’t know if y-you knew or not, I thought you j-just wanted him more than m-me, and I did all this dumb _shit,_ Wanda, I fucked up so bad.”

She believes all of that, too. She reaches out and grabs hold of him, first his shoulders and then all of him, trying to collect him into her arms. “It’s okay,” she says, which isn’t enough. But she needs him to know.

Pietro grabs her, rigid and clinging, burying his face against her shoulder. “I missed you so fucking much,” he says into her sweater. His voice feels raw. He feels raw. “God, I, god, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to leave you, I thought I was gonna die without you.”

“I know,” Wanda says. “I know, me too. I know. And I didn’t know what would happen to you without me. No one else even sees you right.”

Pietro moans and pulls back. “I did some really bad things,” he says. She’s going to hate him. He has to tell her something so she can tell him it doesn’t matter. That it’s okay.

“Let’s talk about it,” Wanda says, still holding on as best she can, her hands on his arms. They’ve always had to do things that weren’t great. That’s how you survive. 

Pietro feels so crushingly, cumulatively ashamed that he can barely work out how to start. “I could’ve died without you,” he says again, meaning it differently. He half-hopes she won’t notice. _Please, please don’t notice._ “It’s better now,” he says quickly. “I just, Ikeptsomebad, there were some people I, but I don’t go near them now.”

Wanda’s eyes narrow, and she has to force out, “It’s okay,” so he doesn’t think she’s angry at _him_. She is, just a little. For not taking care of himself. After a second she says flatly, “There are things I could do to them.”

Pietro shakes his head. “Not—worth it,” he says. “I, I went looking for, they just did what I—” He stops, nauseated.

Pietro looks how Wanda feels. She also feels numb with rage. “That doesn’t make it okay,” she says. “But if you say leave it, I’ll leave it.”

“It was a lot better after, I was getting better once Logan found—took me in,” Pietro says. He doesn’t know why he’s so anxious to explain himself. It’s not going to work.

Wanda almost says, _Creed’s Logan?_ , but she realizes she sounds like one of Magneto’s thugs. “He was nice to you?” she says instead.

“Well, we were fucking,” Pietro says. Shit. Shit, whoops, but also, fuck it. “Kind of kept things in balance, he was so nice.”

A lot of things go through Wanda’s head, but what she says is, “If he wasn’t, I’d murder him.” 

Pietro looks up, quick and unguarded and familiar. “Yeah?” he says.

Long sleeve at all times, he’s thinking. He can’t show her his scars. He doesn’t want anyone to die. He doesn’t want his sister to fight those people.

“ _Yeah,”_ Wanda says. “You’re my sibling. If anyone fucks with you, they fuck with me. That’s our deal.”

“Yeah, well,” Pietro sighs. “Good luck fighting Magneto.”

“Oh,” Wanda says. Anything she tries to explain about how he’s okay and has smart ideas will be a betrayal. “Okay,” she says, “I want to talk to him. About how he kicked you out and lied to me.”

“It won’t help,” Pietro says. “Anyway, I don’t want to go back.” He’d never really thought of living there again, even if Magneto would take him. The idea grips him with dread.

“You don’t have to.” Wanda frowns. “You’re—are you happier here with them than you ever were on Genosha?” If he is, does that mean she’s supposed to leave her father, or leave Pietro?

Pietro laughs. “ _This_ is happier? I guess I was even more fucking awful on Genosha than I thought.”

“You trust them, though,” Wanda says. "I can tell." It hurts to say it.

Pietro thinks about it. “Yeah,” he says finally. “I do. And most of the time it’s really good. And—”

He’s not really sure how to explain Loki and Victor and their kids.

“Yeah?” Wanda asks. “You can tell me. You can tell me anything.” She gives him a little smile and a shrug. He considers, and hell. Something is going to make this crack, but he’s got to trust Wanda to be _his Wanda_ until it happens.

“So also,” he says, “Loki and Dr. Doom are kind of my crazy godparents now.”

Wanda blinks at him. Then she says, “Oh my god. I—they even live close to home. To Transia, I mean.”

Maybe Pietro _needs_ crazy godparents.

“Yeah, I know,” Pietro says, uncomfortable in a way Wanda can’t immediately decode. “I was home kind of recently. Um, they’re really great! Loki’s kids are a giant wolf and this horse with all these legs and wegorunningand it’s _so great.”_ His face gets brighter and less bruised-looking as he talks. Wanda wants to fucking cry.

“You _are_ happy,” she says. “You look so pretty when you’re happy.”

Pietro is blushing and fierce in a moment. “You should come with me,” he says. “you should come and meet them. You should stay _here_ and see that humans aren’t as bad as Magneto says.”

Wanda hesitates. “He said I didn’t have to go back right away,” she says. “He said that.”

Pietro looks at her, hopeful and frightened. “They’d love to have you,” he says. “I swear, they’re great, they—” She can’t find out about Ezekiel, but other than that...

“Okay,” Wanda says. “I will. Just don’t look like that.” She gives his hair a pat, and he snakes a hand up to give Wanda’s hair a little tug.

“Okay,” he says. “I won’t look like that.” He bites his lip. “You’re really gonna stay?”

Wanda nods. “Maybe not forever, but for a little while. Long enough to work everything out.” Now she’s all confused about Magneto anyway. She just needs a little time.

 _Yes_ and _maybe not forever_ clash uncomfortably against one another in Pietro’s mind. It’s that easy for Wanda to say she’d leave him again, he thinks, and he has to swallow down panic. And it’s almost worse to realize—it’s also this easy to _get her back._ Wanda doesn’t know what it’s cost him, what it’s cost everybody in this building, that Pietro didn’t know he could get her back.

“Let’s hang out here for a little bit,” Wanda says. “Then I want to try meeting your friends. Okay?” She knows things aren’t okay, but she has to keep pretending they are until she can help them get there.

“Okay,” Pietro says. It comes out wrong, so he tries again. “Okay. You want a drink, or dinner or something?”

“All of that would be _great,”_ Wanda says. “Oh, and I—Oh, no. I have to send Creed home. He’s in the lobby. It’ll just take a second.” She stands up.

“He _what?”_ Pietro says, on his feet before she is. “What the hell? Next time leave him on the street. JARVIS, why haven’t you kicked him out?”

“I am monitoring him, Mr. Maximoff,” the wall says calmly. “I assure you, there will be an alert should he make a single suspicious motion.”

Wanda looks startled and then pretends not to. “Uh, great. Yeah. I think he’ll be good, anyway,” she says. “Coming?”

“ _Yes,”_ Pietro says. “Jesus Christ.” It’s practically a good thing Wanda didn’t try to visit him before now, or Creed might have wound up waiting on Logan’s doorstep.

Wanda follows Pietro back to the lobby, trying not to hurry, but trying to keep up with Pietro, who is. Creed is there, pacing restlessly in tight little circles.

“Oh, hi, you can go now,” Pietro says, belligerently and without preamble.

Creed stops pacing and gives Pietro a slow, nasty smile. “You look _bad,”_ he says.

“I look great,” Pietro says. “Fuck off to Genosha, buddy.”

“Yes, you can go,” Wanda says, automatically putting herself a little bit in front of Pietro. “Tell Magneto I’ll be back, but I don’t know when.”

“You’re kidding,” Creed says, eyes still on Pietro. “A little sweet talk from brother dearest and you’re staying?”

“Be a creep somewhere else,” Pietro spits.

Creed chuckles, low and pleased. “I can think of a few places.”

“You might wanna check your calendar,” Pietro bites back. “I don’t think you’re in season.”

Creed snarls and whirls around, turning his back on them. “Rot in hell, kid. Wanda, I’ll be waiting when you want to get picked up.” Then he’s gone, in a swirl of long coat and slamming door.

Pietro glares after him. The only good thing about this is that Creed didn’t call him a slut or a suicidal freak, which are the words he used _last_ time they ran into one another.

“If he’d come any closer to you,” Wanda says tightly, “he would have had a problem.”

“He’s not interested in me,” Pietro says. Especially not now that Pietro’s dumped Logan.

“ _Good,”_ Wanda says firmly. She squeezes Pietro’s arm. Pietro turns it into a hug, a proper one where he’s not crying his stupid eyes out.

“Is it okay if we go talk to my friends?” he asks. “We should let ‘em know you’re staying with me. Then dinner, I promise. You can have the rest of my Chinese.” He smiles hopefully, and Wanda smiles back. She remembers this. The careful checking if things are okay.

“I don’t mind,” she says.

Pietro smiles harder, looking really enough like himself that Wanda stops being scared for a minute. “They’re great, I promise,” Pietro says. “Everything’s great.” He takes hold of her hand and won’t let go.


	8. the hapless queer avengers learn they have a guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She wants to ask them something, but everything she can think of starts with _is it true that…?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: mental illness?

“Time to stop gossiping about us!” Pietro says, sticking his head through the rec room door. Only Tony and Natasha and Steve are left, which is less terrifying than it could be. All Pietro wants is to keep Wanda from running away before he can calm down enough to talk to her right.

Wanda follows Pietro into the room, but she doesn’t venture much past the door. 

“Hi,” she says. “I guess I didn’t do this so well before. I’m Wanda.”

“Hi,” Tony says, with a slightly forced smile. He glances at Pietro.

“We just wanted to ask,” Pietro says, “is it okay if Wanda stays with me here for a little while?”

“Of course,” Steve says. “She’s your sister! That is, I’m assuming she’s your sister and not an evil alien shape-shifter. No offense to friends not present. But Wanda can stay.”

That’s not what Wanda expects. “You don’t care that I’m—” She stops. She doesn’t know what she is that Pietro isn’t. “Living with Magneto,” she finishes.

Steve and Pietro look to Tony. Natasha says, “None of us has always been trustworthy. If you are here to hurt us, we will find out and then we will deal with it. Otherwise…” She shrugs.

“I don’t understand,” Wanda says blankly. She can’t remember if Magneto taught her that people aren’t like this, or if Pietro did, before. She can’t remember if any of this is supposed to be surprising. 

“Pietro says you’re okay, so you’re okay,” Tony says uncomfortably. Pietro nods emphatically, trying to hide how afraid he is that Wanda _isn’t_ okay. She brought Creed with her. What if she isn’t here for him at all?

Wanda edges past Pietro and sits on the arm of a couch. “So, you’re Iron Man and Black Widow and Captain America, right?”

Steve nods. “And you’re sometimes the Scarlet Witch. Correct?”

She nods. “That’s what I go by on Genosha, but I know it’s kind of a mouthful. Wanda’s fine.” She gives him a little smile. He seems all right. If he’s not, she’ll kill him with her mind and no one will know. It’s fine.

“We all have code names!” Pietro says. “But everyone forgets to use them! I guess Loki calls people by their last names sometimes, but that’s not really—” 

Natasha frowns. Pietro is babbling. Either this girl is really a good thing for him, and he simply isn’t used to having him back, or Natasha and the rest of them are going to be watching Wanda around the clock. She seems practically bland, vague and young and disinterested in a way that doesn’t reflect anything Natasha knows about her.

Natasha doesn’t like that.

“You can call me Steve, if you prefer,” Steve offers, smiling. “As Pietro said, we’re not very formal around here.”

“Not much like at home,” Wanda says. She wants to ask them something, but everything she can think of starts with _is it true that…?_

“Well,” Tony says. “It’s true we’re not much like your dad. Would you like your own suite, or do you just want to stay with Pietro? We have plenty of room.”

Pietro nearly says she can stay with him, before he realizes how that sounds. How everyone will hear it. He can still hear Ezekiel’s voice in his ear, and when he looks at Wanda, he has to grab his hands together and look away.

But, “I’d rather stay with Pietro, thanks,” Wanda says. 

“Excellent,” Steve says. “If you all want to get that set up, I think I’m off. Early night. I’m feeling a little beat. Transatlantic travel in seconds is a great trick, but it always makes me feel like death.”

Tony stands up. “Yeah, I’ll be up in a minute. I won’t wake you if you’re asleep.” He leans over to give Steve a peck on the cheek.

“Oh my god,” Wanda says. “It’s true.”

Everyone stares at her for a few frozen seconds.

Steve looks around at Pietro and Natasha and, most importantly, Tony, and says slowly, “Excuse me, miss, but what’s true?”

Wanda blushes. “God, I’m sorry, that was so rude. I just, sometimes Sabretooth and Mystique talk about you guys, and they said—well, that you’re a couple, I guess.”

They actually said a lot more, and a lot of it was much nastier, but that’s not important.

“Ah,” says Steve, nodding. “Well, yes. That’s true.”

“It’s cool,” Wanda says weakly. “I’m just glad there are some people around who aren’t…like everyone else. Sorry, I—I just want Pietro to have people around who aren’t jerks.”

Pietro laughs. “Oh my god. Wanda. They are like, the tip of the iceberg. I told you, the Avengers are really fucking good. Like, really good, and key word _fucking._ Sorryguys.” Tony waves a limp _don’t worry about it._ Wanda laughs, feeling less stupid.

“I’m really glad,” she says. She gives them all a genuine smile and watches them relax. Okay, maybe they’re actually good for Pietro.

Pietro swoops forward and grabs a couple of takeout boxes. “Dinner!” he says. “Okay, I can—let me show you my room. It’s new. I’ll show you.”

“I’m going to bed,” Steve says, standing. “I’ll see you all tomorrow.” He excuses himself.

“All right,” Tony says. “Listen, what if I open up the suite next to yours in case anyone needs a little extra space? That sound good? It’s really not a problem. The robots are good housekeepers.” 

Pietro catches himself, because of the note in Tony’s voice that says, _You’re going too fast, let me help out._

“Yeah,” Pietro says. “Yeah, that would be great.” He turns back to Wanda and grabs her hand. “Is that good?”

“Yes,” she says. She gives him a smile that’s just for him. “That’s perfect. We’re doing great.”

“If I’m not needed,” says Natasha, getting up. The _we’re doing great_ rubs her the wrong way. Pietro hasn’t needed that kind of handholding for days. He has been doing well, even when they came back home to plan a break-in of Genosha. 

But she tries not to overreact. They’re both damaged children, out of sync from each other where, from what she understands, they’re used to fitting perfectly. Natasha can’t overreact, or she is as likely to kill Pietro as save him.

“I think we’re okay,” Pietro says. “Thanks, Tasha.”

“Good night,” Natasha says, and leaves. 

Tony goes with the twins to open up the rooms next to Pietro’s. “There you go,” he says. “If you want them. If you want anything, just ask the house. It’s called JARVIS. Pietro can show you.”

Wanda blinks and nods. Okay. Weird. But not weirder than Genosha, yet. She’s still all wound up, though, waiting for the other shoe to drop. She hates being wound up. Her fingertips prickle a little. “Thanks,” she says.

“Yeah,” says Pietro. “See you tomorrow?”

“You got it,” Tony says. He gives Pietro’s shoulder a squeeze and tries to ignore the fact that the kid is shivering with nerves. It’ll probably smooth itself out soon, when Wanda’s been back for awhile and all the other shit is a little further away. Assuming Wanda doesn’t make things worse.

He waves to them both, and goes in search of bed.


	9. natasha and logan do commisseration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He can be a hundred years old and still act like a teenager when he gets dumped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: alcohol, references to questionable relationships, mental illness, suicidal ideation, bad families

Natasha leaves the tower without leaving a message and heads straight to Logan’s place. It’s out of her way, but it’s where she needs to go. She hasn’t seen Logan since before they knew it was Obadiah, when he and Pietro were fighting over some _guy_ Pietro was seeing. She does not much want to see him now, even though he is her friend; he can’t be happy, and this will be awkward. On the other hand, she thinks, it may be worth the trouble. And they’re friends.

When Natasha arrives, Logan is sitting on the couch with a beer and a list of people he’s supposed to be calling about X-Men business. There are a couple more beers still sitting in a neat line next to his feet. A couple.

He’s okay. He’s just having a little post-relationship letdown. It’s nothing new, but there’s a new brand of guilt every time, and the best he can say this time is that Pietro isn’t dead. So he really doesn’t feel like answering the door.

“Logan,” Natasha calls through the door. She is in no mood for Logan’s feelings, however fair they might be. He is home. It is almost certainly his feelings that are keeping her on the doorstep. “This can take as little time as you want. Open up.”

Logan can’t say no to Natasha. He owes her. Besides, he likes her. He hauls himself to his feet and gets the door.

“Hey,” he says. “C’min?”

“Thanks,” she says, slipping past him. She waits until he’s shut the door. “Are you alone?” she asks.

“No shit,” Logan says, indicating the empty beer bottles. He’s not in the mood to play espionage.

Natasha doesn’t bother to look reproachful. “Are you well?” she asks, because she likes him enough to spare a moment for what is not quite a pleasantry.

“I will be,” Logan says honestly. “Mostly just been sitting here trying to figure out how big a creep I was.”

Natasha considers before she answers. “Maybe a little creep,” she says. “You kept him alive, until there were more of us to field it. I don’t think he would have stayed with you, if you hadn’t given him anything.” She shrugs. “That probably doesn’t make it better for either of you, but if you hadn’t slept with him, I think he’d be dead.”

Logan shivers. “That’s a helluva comfort. But thanks, I guess. What did you need?”

“Wanda Maximoff is in the tower,” Natasha says, unsmiling.

Logan narrows his eyes. “Yeah?” The hair on the back of his neck is standing on end. “Who sent her?” 

Natasha says, “She implies that she sent herself, and that Magneto gave her permission. But I believe the push came from Carol Danvers and her team.”

Logan snorts. “They’re an even bigger wreck than your Avengers. No offense. But I don’t trust this at all. Magneto’s got that kid wrapped around his finger. And even if he doesn’t, she’s trouble.”

“I don’t know whether Wanda is willingly a part of any plans Magneto might have,” Natasha says, “but I don’t trust her at all. Not in my home. Not with my team. Not with Pietro, either.” She scowls and picks a fleck of peeling paint off the wall. “You can see, he would walk off a cliff for her. But she does not seem like much. I don’t know if she is dull or hiding something terrible.”

“He talked about her,” Logan says uncomfortably. “I mean, we both know he’d do way too much for her, but that’s not what I mean. He made it sound like her powers are a little...heavy. And more than that, I’m not sure how great her control is.” That’s just part of what worries him about Wanda.

“Reassuring,” Natasha says. “Between Magneto and Pietro, who would she choose?”

Logan shrugs. “Dunno. I want to say Pietro, but most of what I know about her comes from him, so I might not have the whole picture. Besides,” he adds darkly, “Magneto’s good at getting in people’s heads.”

“She did stay with him when Pietro left,” Natasha murmurs. “Do you think we will have trouble with the X-Men if they find out she is with us?”

This is an answer Logan does have. “Yes,” he says. “They keep a pretty close watch on her. Don’t ask me if it’s because she’s just that powerful or because Charles has some weird hangups about Magneto’s family.”

“I’ll save that question for whenever Scott Summers comes around to interrogate us about her,” Natasha says.

Logan chuckles, until he thinks about Scott and all the empty beers and starts feeling mournful again. “I’ll try to keep them off your backs,” he says. “How does the rest of the team feel? How does Pietro feel?”

Natasha narrows her eyes. “Wanda has been in the tower for no more than an hour,” she says. “She entered under her own power, bypassed all our security, and interrupted a meeting—the goal of which was her retrieval. Pietro hasn’t been out of her sight since then, and the rest of us have had no opportunity to speak with one another.” She sighs. “Logan, I see traps in everything—but if this girl is not a trap, she’s still as good as one.”

Logan nods. “Yeah, I agree. And here’s a bonus point of interest: I don’t think she’s all that stable. Mentally.”

“Really?” Natasha says, leaning forward. “She reads as—frighteningly normal. An extremely average nineteen-year-old girl. This is part of why I came to you; this girl should not _be_ normal.”

“She’s not,” Logan says. “I get a lot of cross-talk from Pietro, the Brotherhood, and the X-Men, and I’ve managed two pick up two things: Wanda’s very powerful, and she’s not all there.”

Natasha frowns. “Then I hope Pietro stops behaving as though he can safely lay himself and his friends at her feet.”

“Good luck,” Logan says unkindly. He can be a hundred years old and still act like a teenager when he gets dumped.

Natasha gives him a little grunt of sympathy, but, “You knew when you took him in that Pietro has never been _all there_ either,” she says. “I don’t think that _or_ being dumped means you want to see him get hurt. I think he has had enough of that.”

“I know that,” Logan says grumpily. “Trust me, I want to help out. I just don’t think I can. You can’t send her away. I don’t think you should let her stay, either.”

“I don’t know what choices we have,” Natasha says. “I don’t know what she wants or how long she plans to stay. I’m only here now because I don’t trust her and I want to know what to watch for. But what do we do? Try to rehabilitate her with Pietro? We took him abroad. He was doing well, until she showed up.”

Logan wants to say that he’s done with rehabilitating anyone, and that it’s always a mistake, but he knows he’l change his mind about that in a month or so.

“Watch her,” he says. “Find out how deep Magneto’s got his hooks in.”

“And try not to pop the balloon,” Natasha finishes. “Yes, I will watch. I will let Tony know, but no one else, I think. Wanda will not benefit from a team of human spies.” And Thor.

“Thanks,” Logan says. “For, y’know, recognizing that it’s a mutant issue. Because it is. It will be. If something goes wrong, there’ll be that kind of trouble.”

“Magneto will make sure of it,” Natasha says. Especially if Bruce—“Damn,” she says.

“What?” Logan demands.

“Bruce Banner,” Natasha says. “Magneto has his crusade, but he also has a vendetta. A child’s family came to Bruce because her mutation was debilitating and no one in the mutant community offered a solution they wanted. Bruce knew the risk if anyone found out, but he took the job anyway. Apparently Magneto made his feelings known a few days ago.”

“Damn it,” Logan says. Things like this always cause a big stir. Logan’s personal feelings aside, this is bad news for everybody. “He was stupid to get caught,” he says.

“Maybe the family didn’t keep quiet enough,” Natasha says. “It doesn’t matter in any case. Wanda’s presence could be purely a set-up, whether she knows it or not.

“He uses every damn person in the Brotherhood,” Logan agrees in a snarl. “Why not his own kids?”

Natasha says gently. “We already know how he uses them.”

“No kidding,” Logan says bitterly. “Father of the fucking year. Well, doesn’t matter why Wanda’s around, she’s dangerous.”

“It also doesn’t matter,” Natasha says, “because Pietro is attached to her like the other half of his heart. We can’t just send her back to Genosha. Pietro would quit the Avengers in a second. I don’t even know if he’d go to Latveria; Thor and Tony are too close there. We can’t lose him so soon after Ezekiel. He won’t tell anyone. He’ll be alone.”

Logan hates Ezekiel, but he hates Wanda a little and Magneto more. “There’s no way to play this that won’t alienate him.”

Natasha nods. “It’s a mess, which is almost certainly what Magneto wants. Perhaps the only option for now is to let it play out a little. If Tony and you and I—and Bruce, of course—are aware, then perhaps waiting awhile is the best choice.”

Logan considers saying that _he_ probably wasn’t the best guy to bring in on this, but he’s not so drunk that he’s going to be stubborn and difficult. “Yeah, let Bruce know. It’s his mess, too.”

Natasha makes a noise of agreement. “So,” she says. “Magneto is running a game, and we are running against it, but we must not let Pietro or Wanda know. For them it must be only a reunion, yes? That will be difficult enough for them. I do not think they will see the conspiracy.”

“They’ll be too wrapped up in each other.” Logan glares at the ceiling. “That’s what happens when you don’t have anyone else your whole life. It’s shit.”

“Perhaps Pietro has been drawn out enough that Wanda will be, too,” Natasha says. “Perhaps neither of them will be lost and nothing so terrible will happen.”

Logan’s laugh doesn’t quite take. “Yeah,” he says. “Sure. It always goes that way.” He’s so sick of losing people.

“Logan,” Natasha says, “this is what we’re for. This is what the bitter old bastards do. When the young ones are falling to pieces, we hold them up. We are too tough to fall ourselves.”

Logan smiles. “You’ve always been so good. You’re still good. It’s fine, I’m just drunk and single.”

Natasha nods. She’s been there enough times. And now there is Jan. Natasha understands too well how guilt and adoration muddle together, when someone like Natasha or Logan loves somebody too young and too kindhearted.

“I’ll let you drink,” she says. “Or I’ll have one too, if you want company. I will not be so grim.”

“Got a whole six-pack left,” Logan says. “Stay and have a few.” He likes Natasha, because she is unforgiving and respectful in equal measure.

Natasha nods and takes a seat beside Logan before she reaches down for a beer. They’ve done this before, too. The circumstances are always different, but it always feels the same. They don’t talk much. Logan drinks and thinks about stuff and feels a little better. No matter what happens with Wanda and Pietro, he and Natasha can at least try to handle it together. If they can’t, at least there’ll be someone to drink with afterward.


	10. the hapless queer whatevers feel worse than ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “But they don’t even pull it together!” Jessica complains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: nnnnnone

Carol is trying to decide how to say, “Well, we failed completely and had our asses handed to us,” while still sounding positive and like she’s fostering a healthy team atmosphere. They’re walking to Jess and Danny and Luke's apartment; Magneto was polite enough to give them a lift most of the way, even though he kept T’Challa’s jet. 

“Well,” Jess says, “that wasn’t a spectacular success, but—”

Danny finishes, “You can come back from pretty much anything if you’re not dead. As far as we know he didn’t kill anybody.”

Carol laughs bitterly. “You still _want_ us to come back?” 

“Well, yeah,” Luke says, frowning. “One bad mission doesn’t mean we should scrap the whole team.” Carol isn't sure she agrees. Every mission has been worse and worse, and it's starting to look like it's not worth it. They’re all good at their jobs, there’s no reason it _should_ be like this. She’s starting to wonder if she’s the reason.

“She’s got a point,” Jessica says, which Carol doesn’t really want to hear. “We’re not much of a team. You know, I had a much higher success rate before I joined up...”

“With _what?”_ Carol asks nastily.

“Except for I was evil,” Jessica finishes doggedly. 

Danny watches them, trying not to frown. Jessica doesn’t respond to Carol’s barb, but it doesn’t matter. Everyone can see her tensing up. Danny sees exactly how close they are to the second interpersonal cataclysm that’s been threatening their team for weeks.

“Well, you’re not evil now,” he says, to remind her as much as to remind Carol. “Maybe we can give the Avengers yet another call tomorrow, see how it’s going. If there’s no problem, we table this and focus on something else. There’s always smaller fish to fry. They matter too, right?”

“Absolutely,” Jess says.

“We need not put all our efforts into battling kings,” T’Challa agrees. “Though from what I understand, that is what the Avengers do.”

“With our powers, we _could_ , though,” Carol says, backing down a little. “I just want to make sure we’re doing something useful here.” Instead of going around in circles yelling at each other and getting humiliated by Magneto.

“I think we _could,”_ Luke says carefully. Jess pushes past him to unlock the front door of their apartment building.

“I’m making tea,” she says on her way upstairs. The others follow her. “And cocoa. Who wants cocoa?” Danny and T’Challa raise their hands, and Jess waves at them and heads into the kitchen. Jessica crosses her arms and looks miserably down at the steps as she climbs. She slips past T'Challa at the doorway and puts herself on the arm of a chair in the corner.

Bobbi, who’s been quiet for most of the trip home, goes over to her. “Hey,” she says quietly, “I don’t know what happened between you and Carol, but I can talk to her, if you want. She listens to me sometimes. Fellow military women and all.”

Jessica glances furtively at the rest of the team, settling around the living room. “I think that might make it worse,” she says. “I mean, I’d say just tell her to stop being such a jerk, but she’ll just say I’m the one being a jerk. Not much point, y’know?”

“I know,” Bobbi says fervently. She’s had plenty of those arguments. “Well, if you need me to kick her ass, I could do that, too.” She really couldn’t. Carol would pulverize her. 

But Jessica cracks a grin. “You’re good news, Bobbi. Thanks. I’ll try to stop _antagonizing_ her. For tonight, anyway.”

Bobbi sighs. “That might be good. I know everyone’s wound up because we’re not pulling it together like the Avengers are, but at least Nick Fury isn’t always on our case like he is on theirs.” Fury’s an okay guy, but Bobbi doesn’t miss having him in her business.

“But they don’t even pull it together!” Jessica complains. “If, like, a _third_ of what I’ve heard about them is true, they spend all their fucking time putting out their own fires! New York would be safer if they _weren’t in it.”_

“I hear they did some useful shit for Loki,” Luke. “Sorry, didn’t mean to butt in.”

“Loki is still _evil_ as far as I know,” Bobbi says. "I'm not sure I like them doing useful shit for Loki."

Danny says, “I heard Stark and Doom and Loki are breeding an army of monsters in the backwoods of Latveria!”

“Out of _what?”_ asks Jessica.

“Loki, I guess.” Danny looks repulsed.

Jess emerges from the kitchen.

“Maybe we should stop spreading rumors?” she says. Carol snorts.

“No, I agree,” Bobbi says. “That’s just a good rule in general.”

“Okay, okay,” Danny says. “But Carol, you have to tell us if it turns out Stark and Doom and Loki are breeding an army of monsters in the backwoods of Latveria.”

From the corner of his eye, he sees Jessica smile right. _Score._

“As if Tony tells me anything these days,” Carol says grumpily. “He’s too busy with his new boyfriend and his new team.”

Everyone is sort of carefully quiet.

“Yeah, I think I forgot exactly what you said about that before,” Danny says, very casually.

Carol glares at him. “Well, don’t everyone get _weird.”_

“We’re not getting weird!” Danny says. “Er, we just wondered how all...that...was going.”

“I don’t know,” Carol says. “That’s my point. Anyway, I’m not here to provide your daily Tony Stark gossip. Any website can do that.”

“Yeah, but we won’t know that _that’s_ true,” Danny points out.

“We really don’t need to,” Jess says. “Danny. Marshmallows?”

“Of course, beautiful! Thank you!” Danny says.

“I meant, could you find them, please?”

“Oh,” says Danny. “Yes. Sorry. Gimme a sec.”

Carol crosses her arms, and, laying claim to the moral high ground, says, “I don’t do gossip.”

“Pity,” say Jessica and Danny at the same time.

“Rumor can have its uses,” T’Challa agrees. “For now perhaps we should either befriend the Avengers or treat them as respected allies? And if they do not respect _us,_ perhaps we can do something to change that.”

“I’ll bet some of ‘em already do,” Bobbi says. She has a couple in mind. The ones who are professional in a way she understands.

“I am reassured,” says T’Challa. He doesn’t really mind _not_ being particularly respected here, by the people in question. The people of Wakanda are his people. They respect him, and that is more than respect enough.

“So, okay,” Jess says. “We got caught, we didn’t get Pietro’s message to Wanda, and we have no idea whether she’s even aware that we tried to come back. We _do_ have to talk to the Avengers, right? We can’t just walk in on Pietro Maximoff a second time. Could you go to Tony, Carol?”

The last thing Carol wants is another lecture from Tony, the person least equipped to give lectures.

“Of course,” she says. It’s her job, if she’s going to keep leading them.

“We could try something else,” Jess offers dubiously.

“Why don’t we just ask someone who’ll be straight with us, and not blow up or blow us off?” Bobbi asks. “Like, say, an ex-SHIELD agent?”

“Good point,” Jess says.

“You mean the people who have actually been hanging out with the kid?” Jessica says.

“I vote Black Widow,” Danny says. “Hawkeye’s kind of a chump.”

“He’s not a chump,” Bobbi says, nettled. “You just like the one with the chest.”

“I do like ones with chests,” Danny says, eyeing Luke appreciatively. Luke laughs easily and gives Danny a little shove. Carol tries not to spontaneously combust with rage.

“We could ask them both,” Luke says. “It’s always good to get a couple perspectives.”

“I’ll talk to both of them, if you want,” Bobbi says. “They know me.”

“That sounds perfect,” Jess says. “What do you think, Carol?” The deference would probably count for more if Jess didn’t leave the room to fetch the teapot.

“Do it,” Carol says. “The rest of you, just stay on low alert. I need a fucking nap.”

“With you on that,” Jess mutters. “I’m going home.” She means it. She leaves.

“Welp,” Danny says.

T’Challa says, “Do you think Tony Stark would lend me a jet?”

“It’s the least he could do,” Carol says. It’s the least she could do, too, since it’s really her fault that they lost the old one. “Do you want me to call him?”

T’Challa waves her off. “The embassy will take care of me,” he says. 

“All right,” Carol says, getting up. “Everyone get some rest.” T’Challa follows her out the door. It’s a deflated kind of end to the meeting, but then, no one has the heart left to do better.


	11. jess, luke, and danny get laid before dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke makes a sound. “You are both so fucking perfect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: consensual explicit sex, cis m/cis m/cis f, BDSM

Danny waits until everyone is gone, and then sighs. “When all this implodes and everything is awful, at least we’ll still have each other.”

“Only if you give me some of your hot chocolate,” Luke says.

“Ouch,” Danny says. “It’ll cost ya.”

“Oh, I’m sure we can work something out,” Luke says, putting his arm around Jess and his foot on Danny’s toe. Danny makes a pleased noise. He shifts forward to land a kiss on Luke’s nose, and hands him his hot chocolate.

“Good boy,” Luke chuckles. “You know, some of these meetings would be hell without you two.” He takes a sip of the hot chocolate and smiles at Jess. “Perfect.”

“They’re practically hell anyway,” Danny says. He perches next to Luke on the arm of the couch rather than retreating to his chair.

“It’s just Carol and Jessica,” Jess says, furrowing her brow. “I think everything else would come together all right, if they weren’t constantly undermining each other.”

“Think one of ’em will leave?” Luke asks, putting an arm around Danny. “Or do you think they’ll talk it out like adults?” Or it could just blow up in everyone’s faces and destroy the whole team. 

“No takers on talking like grownups,” says Danny.

“If anyone leaves, it’ll be Jessica,” Jess decides. “Carol needs people to command. Jessica might be familiar with authority, but I think she’s used to running away from it, too.”

“Too bad,” Luke says. “I like her. And this mess isn’t her fault.” He shifts to run his hand through Jess’s hair. Danny leans down so his elbow is resting on Luke’s shoulder, and his weight is resting on his elbow.

“Does that mean you _know what happened?”_ he asks. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us, if you know what happened.”

“You’re a bad person,” Luke says seriously. Danny sits upright again, a little affronted. “I’m gonna give you the answer Carol gave you about Tony: I don’t gossip. But yeah, I’m pretty sure I know what happened.”

Jess strokes Luke’s neck. “Is there anything we can do about it tonight?” she asks.

“No,” Luke says emphatically. “Someone’s gotta straighten Carol out on her bullshit, and I think someone’ll do it, eventually. Might be Tony, if you asks me. But it’s not our business.” He gives Danny a pointed look.

“I’m not doing anything,” Danny says. “I let it go already. Jeez.”

“Please don’t fight,” Jess says. “It’s been a long day. I want to order takeout and make love, and I don’t want to waste time breaking up a fight over nothing.”

This is why Luke isn’t actually the peacemaker, most of the time. He forgets to be, until she remembers. “You’re in charge, babe,” he says. He gives Danny’s arm a squeeze by way of apology.

“Good,” Jess says. She gets up and strides off to the kitchen. “If you want anything weird, let me know!” she yells. “Otherwise I’m just getting the usual.”

“Usual’s fine!” Luke calls. Then he grabs Danny’s arm and hauls him down into his lap. “Come here. You’re making me nervous perching up there.”

Danny fits himself more comfortably and crosses his ankles, elbow leaned up against the back of the couch over Luke’s shoulder.

“I never make anyone nervous,” he says. “I’m too zen. Or they don’t notice I exist or whatever.”

“Your fucking superpowers don’t work on me,” Luke says, although honestly, Danny can still take him by surprise more often than he’d like.

“What good does that do you?” Danny asks.

“It means I can catch you and pin you down,” Luke says, grabbing a handful of Danny’s hair. 

There are some things Luke can always predict. Danny is instantly docile. He can more than hold his own in a fight or an argument, but in bed he surrenders at the first sign of struggle. Jess is especially fond of that.

Luke grins. “I’d better watch it, or you’ll be done before the food even gets here.”

Jess comes back in from the bedroom. “That’s the idea,” she says. “Come on. Twenty minutes. We can keep a schedule, right?” She looks around the room. “Nobody’s still here, are they? T’Challa isn’t blending into the curtains?”

“Left with Carol,” Danny mumbles, leaning back into Luke’s hand with his eyes slitted like a happy dog’s.

“It’s sexy when you organize,” Luke tells Jess, not kidding even a little. He tightens his hand in Danny’s hair just to see what’ll happen. Danny moans and goes limp in Luke’s lap. His free hand digs into Luke’s ribs.

“Oh, you are so _good,”_ Luke mutters. “Long day. Let me give you something.” Danny nuzzles his neck. 

Jess says, “Luke, take his shirt off,” and then shrugs apologetically because costume terminology is always a little iffy. But Luke just makes a small, stunned noise. That never, never stops being sexy.

Luke slides Danny’s sleeves down his arms, and Danny lets Luke at it. He gives Jess a blurry look when his sleeves pull free of his wrists. Jess smiles at him.

“Good boy,” she says. She leans down to brush a hand over Danny’s chest, tracing his tattoo, and he pushes himself towards her. She pats him gently.

“The rest of the way,” she tells Luke. 

“Hn,” Luke says. He makes himself go slowly enough to mess with Danny and to make sure his own fingers don’t slip. He doesn’t like looking stupid. 

While Luke bends down to tug Danny’s suit free, Danny lying back on the couch with his hips up, Jess unhooks her suit from the back. Danny turns his head to watch. Jess’s bra is dark purple. She pulls her legs free as Luke sits up. Danny says, “Shit,” and bites his lip.

“I know,” Luke agrees. They’re both so fucking perfect. 

“But be quiet,” he suggests, giving Danny’s cheek a tap. 

That’s a command that doesn’t always stick. Today, though, Danny shuts his eyes and nods, before peering back at Jess. She bends down to give him a kiss. He’s melting into it when she pulls back and says, “Get on the floor, Danny. Wait your turn.”

Danny looks like he’s going to protest, but he only bites his lip and climbs out of Luke’s lap to kneel on the hardwood floor.

Luke definitely likes this better than when _he’s_ the one who has to wait. He likes it especially because Danny looks so good doing what he’s told.

Luke smiles up at Jess. “C’mere, babe.”

Jess smiles at him, climbing into his lap. She straddles his chest, and her hands come down on his biceps. She bends down to kiss him, and her hair slips over her ears and brushes his face. “Hello, sweet stuff,” she murmurs back.

Luke is routinely confused about how Jess let him into her life and decided to keep him there. But he’s way past worrying about it. He kisses her back, bringing his hands up to squeeze her hips. Danny makes a choked little sound from the floor. Neither Jess nor Luke turns to look, and he gets quiet. 

Jess says, “Luke, honey, I’m going to suck you off. All right?”

“Uh, _yeah,”_ Luke says. “Yeah, please.” Gotta be polite, or he’ll be lucky to get anything.

“Good boy,” Jess says, and she’s _always_ smiling, and that makes it better and worse. She slides backwards off him and says. “Get naked or I can’t do much for you.”

“You got it,” Luke says. He’s not as good at the language of the whole thing as Jess or Danny, but he can still do what he’s told. He gets his clothes off fast, aware that Danny and Jess are both watching.

“Good,” says Jess. In the periphery, she can see Danny digging his nails into this thighs. She fits herself on the couch with Luke, taking it more slowly than strictly necessary, on hands and knees between Luke’s legs.

“Spread a little more, baby,” she says. Danny looks like he’s about to bite through his lip, he’s holding back so hard. Luke groans and spreads his legs, his hands gripping the couch. He wants her so much it hurts.

Jess ponders for a second. There are always a couple of ways they can go with Danny, once they’ve got him quiet. But it takes longer to pull him out of it right, if they start by ignoring him completely, and it doesn’t matter how he’s going to come if he can’t do it before dinner arrives.

“Danny, baby,” she says. “Hands on the floor. Watch me.” Danny bites back a whimper and obeys. Jess takes Luke’s cock in her hand and plunges her mouth down, sucking him in.

“Aah, _fuck_ ,” Luke gasps. He meets Danny’s eyes over Jess’s head and smiles, drawing him in. Danny lurches forward, just barely, and then settles back choking down a sob because he’s not allowed to move. 

Jess does ignore him, not, because Luke’s got him in hand and she doesn’t want to be distracted. She’s using every trick on Luke, too—they’re on a timeframe. She licks him where it counts. When he starts to relax, she pulls off and gets her teeth on his balls. 

Luke shouts and arches his back. “Oh, fuck, Jess, gonna make me come—” He forces himself still, because it’ll just be embarrassing if he comes that fast. His eyes, when he can keep them open, don’t leave Danny’s. Danny looks about ready to cry from holding still. 

“That’s good, baby,” Jess says. “I don’t want it to take a long time.” She catches her breath and glances over at Danny. “Let Danny finish you,” she tells Luke, and leans back. “Sit up.”

Luke makes a sound. “You are both so fucking perfect.” He shifts, still watching Danny.

Danny pushes himself forward with one foot, his shoulders bumping Luke’s knees, arms wrapped up under Luke’s thighs. He slides down until his hands rest on Luke’s hipbones, and then he stops, perfectly still.

“Suck him off, Danny,” Jess says. Danny’s hands tighten, and he goes down on Luke’s cock. Luke gasps and leans back. Danny and Jess give head completely differently, but they’re both amazing. He jerks his hips up, fucking Danny’s mouth. He’s not worried; Danny can take a lot.

Danny moans and opens up, letting Luke jerk his whole body around with how hard he’s fucking.

“You don’t have to take long, sweetie,” Jess says to Luke. Her eyes are on both of them. She loves the way Danny shivers and fights not to protest when she leaves him out on purpose. She loves that either of them could tear almost anyone apart in a fight, but they both fall to pieces for her at a word.

Luke moans and cries out, jerking into Danny’s mouth. It’s only a few more thrusts before he says, “Uh, gonna come, where do you—?”

“In his mouth,” Jess says, still sitting with her legs crossed at the other end of the couch. Luke obeys, coming deep in Danny’s mouth with a long, drawn-out groan. Danny’s hands slip down to grip the edge of the couch, and he whimpers and gulps and scrabbles at the floor.

“Don’t you dare come, Danny,” Jess says. Danny pulls off, panting and dazed, and nods. “Luke, honey, turn this way for me.” Luke looks just as dazed, his whole torso shining with sweat. “I’m going to lean on your chest.”

Luke clears his throat and makes himself move, even though all he wants to do is collapse.

“Stay awake,” Jess adds, and climbs into his lap. His skin is damp, when she leans against him, and she sighs a little in pleasure. When she’s settled, she finds his wrists and guides his hands up to her chest. “That’s your job,” she says. “Tits and hair. Danny.” Danny’s head snaps up. “Up here,” Jess says. “You’re going to fuck me.”

“Oh, hell y—” Danny starts, and then clamps his mouth shut.

“We’ll see if you get to come or not,” Jess says. “Up. Now, please.”

Danny obeys.

Luke squeezes Jess’s tits and tries really damn hard not to get turned on again. He buries his face in her hair and breathes in.

Jess moans, leaning her head back and pushing her tits out. 

“Danny. Condom.” Danny sticks his hand under the sofa cushion and pulls out a handful. He finds one that fits and sticks the rest back in the couch. (It’s convenient to keep them there, though Jess always hopes no one figures out their storage habits in the middle of a meeting.) 

“Don’t hurry,” Jess says gently, slurring a little. Luke knows how to touch her. She’s so wet she can feel it with her legs spread.

Danny nods, but it doesn’t take him long anyway. He climbs up so he’s on hands and knees above her.

“Get your cock in me,” Jess orders. “If you come, it will be the last time for a week.” Danny moans, and goes in shaking.

“So fucking good,” Luke mutters, reaching up to wind one hand in Jess’s hair. He tugs, keeping her head back so he can see her face. Jess cries out, and Danny fucks her harder, her tits bouncing in Luke’s hands. Jess isn’t going to take long either, spread open like this, being touched from every side.

“Keepgoing, keepgoing, keepgoing,” she gasps. Danny is sobbing. Jess can feel Luke getting half-hard against her back. “God, god, god, _fuck me,”_ she yells, eyes screwed shut, and then she comes so hard she accidentally knees Danny in the eye.

“You okay?” Luke asks through his laughter, as Jess falls back against him. Everything is very sexy and ridiculous and slow, and he can’t quite muster up any concern. Nothing’s going to turn Danny off now, anyway.

The problem with getting Danny this turned on, and this far under, is that anything can throw him. He’s a little _too_ in touch with his inner self. He has one hand on his eye, and is half-laughing and looking too upset, and he hasn’t pulled out yet.

" _Danny,"_ Jess says sharply. He meets her eye. "Pull out. Lie back." He does, still shaking, his head resting against the arm of the couch.

"Luke," says Jess, "get up and hold his arms behind his head, okay? Doing okay, Danny?"

"We've got you," Luke says, getting up and grabbing Danny's arms, firm but gentle. "I've got you, hon. I've got you."

Danny whimpers and nods. Jess shifts so that she's lying on top of him, one arm tight around his ribs.

"You're such a good boy," she says. "You've done so well today." She gets her hand on his cock and pulls off the condom, tosses it on the floor even thought she _knows_ Luke doesn't like it. "Want me to jerk you off now?" she asks. Danny nods, eyes shut.

Luke keeps Danny's arms above his head with one hand around Danny's wrists. With the other hand, he reaches down to stroke Danny's cheek. "Bein' so good," he mutters.

Jess kisses while she gets him off, down his chest, then his ear, then his cheek, and then his mouth, deep and forceful and possessive. Danny moans and struggles and bucks against her hand. She pulls back so little that their lips are still touching as she murmurs, “You can come, sweetheart.”

Danny whimpers and kicks, and it’s only a few seconds more; he shouts, and their teeth knock together, and Jess and Luke hold him tight until he stops shivering and sobbing and goes limp underneath them. Luke keeps patting him, stroking down his chest, smoothing out the rough edges of aftershock. “Got you,” he whispers to both of them.

Jess sits up to pull Danny upright, and tucks herself in next to him at the end of the couch. She reaches around him and pats the back. "Have a seat, Mister Cage," she says. "Help me out with this sweet thing I've found." She gives Danny's ear a peck. “You can talk now,” she murmurs, and he gives her a sleepy, half-dazed smile. Good. Definitely all right.

Luke sits, wrapping himself around Danny as best he can. Danny's better at the wrapping part, but Luke can get close. Danny fits himself against Luke like a kitten, forceful and a little sharp and very hard to move. He shuts his eyes. Jess kisses his shoulder and pets Luke's. Luke suddenly can't look either of them in the eye. He loves them too much, and it hurts. He doesn't feel like having a meltdown over how stupidly lucky he is tonight.

The buzzer goes off.

“Oh, shit,” Jess says. “Sorry. Language! Dinner.”


	12. three visitors at avengers tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're the weirdest team of superheroes ever. I really don't understand why you're doing better than us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER WARNINGS: (pt1) awkward family (pt2) transmisogyny, bad coming out, sexism, transphobia, alcohol abuse, ableist/misogynist language (pt3) no warnings

Wanda wakes when the sun rises, and can’t get back to sleep. For a little while, troubled, she watches Pietro sleep. He looks peaceful and incredibly young, even though Wanda knows they’re the same age. Wanda feels young, and lost, and a little sick. She wishes Pietro would wake up. Pietro looks happy.

Wanda makes herself breakfast and tries to ignore the feeling that she’s under surveillance. She tells herself it doesn’t matter if she is, because she could shut down the cameras without lifting a finger. She could shut down the house’s mind with a thought. 

Pietro doesn’t wake for awhile, not until Wanda’s finished her breakfast. Then he’s awake and sitting upright in an instant.

“Wanda?” he says, and his voice wobbles, because she isn’t in the room with him, and she said she might not stay.

Wanda hears him from the other room. “In here!” she calls out before he can start getting upset.

He sticks his head out the door and says, sheepishly, “I smell food.”

Wanda grins. “I made enough for you. I hope it’s okay. I’m still not great at this.”

“You were always great at this,” Pietro says stoutly, and starts poking around the kitchen. “Did you get juice? There’scoffeetoo. This looks awesome.”

“I forgot juice,” Wanda says. “Hey, you sleep okay? You look like you did.”

“Yeah,” he says, and smiles, because, weirdly, he really feels like smiling. “I haven’t slept that well in ages.”

Wanda feels both great and awful about that. “Good,” she says carefully. “I’m glad I came, then. What happens now?”

“Um,” says Pietro. “Anything! I—I guess we could hang out with my team. They’re _really_ great, some of them you just have to get to know a little, like Bruceissuperhardtoread but actuallyreallynice?”

Wanda smiles. “Hey. Slow down. I can barely understand you.” She feels herself relax a tiny bit. If Pietro’s _so sure_ these people are okay, maybe they are. Of course, he was pretty sure about Magneto at first, too, and that changed pretty fast.

"Sorry!" Pietro says. "Sorry. I'm just kind of wound up. So, we could hang out here, or we could go to Latveria or whatever, but that's always gonna take awhile, at least ‘til Tony and Loki finish their teleporter."

Wanda shakes her head. "You've been doing so much _stuff_." Stuff she's not a part of. It's weird. She doesn't know if it's good or bad.

"Me?" Pietro says. "Naw. Not really. But, sometimes I do okay with fighting crime, did you know that?" He grins at her proudly.

Wanda's chest aches. He's _happy_. Whatever the truth is about Magneto, she's not sorry Pietro left. It's a horrible feeling. "I'm really proud of you," she says, annoyed with how flat she sounds.

Pietro's smile dims a little. "I don't mean," he says. "I missed you. I mean, I--it would have been better with you."

“No, sorry, I--" Wanda clears her throat and makes her smile more real. "I'm really glad you're happy. I just miss you, too."

Pietro nods, and tries not to apologize over and over for something that isn't his fault.

"So, is there something you wanna do?" he asks.

"I want you to show me the stuff that makes you the happiest," Wanda says. Partly for obvious reasons, and partly because she wants to understand. If she understands, maybe she'll find something to like about these humans.

"Not to sound sappy, but it all makes me pretty happy," Pietro says. "Have you, uh. Have you read the papers? About--about me?"

Wanda hesitates. "We don't really get them there," she says quietly. "Remember?" Magneto probably gets all the news he needs from his small banks of computers and his inner circle, but the rest of the inhabitants of Genosha don’t get much news of the outside world.

Pietro blinks. "Oh," he says. "Right. Of course. Uh, so I was thinking, maybe I can show you some of the ones where I'm in it? And I can tell you if they got it right, too, because man, sometimes the news is _totally_ wrong about stuff."

Wanda laughs and hugs him quickly. "Show me, then." This isn't the Pietro she knew, the one who was terrified and furious at any mention of the outside world, when the outside world meant anyone who wasn't the two of them. This is better.

“Okay,” Pietro says. He feels stupid and giddy and babyish and can’t make himself feel bad about it.

“Good,” Wanda says. She grabs his hand and squeezes it. “I can’t wait.”

~

Carol said she wouldn’t, and she doesn’t intend to, but she wakes up early worrying. By eight she’s out the door and heading off to talk to Tony. She’s not a fan of beating around the bush playing stupid power games. If she can settle some things with him, maybe she’ll come away a little calmer and more in control. She might even bring up Jessica. Maybe.

The building lets her in, even though she glares at it. It lets her get as far as the door on Tony’s workshop. She should be flattered, really; she knows Tony has very specific locks on every part of this building, and he updates everything constantly. She knocks, even though it’s not the kind of door you necessarily knock on.

It takes a minute for Tony to get to the door. JARVIS has to increase his volume to be heard over Tony’s music, and Tony is in the middle of a pile of scrap metal—maybe not the best way to sort through his shit, but it _feels_ right. He digs himself out and makes his way to the door. He opens it without turning the music down.

“OH,” he says, seeing Carol. “HI THERE.”

“Turn it the fuck down!” Carol shouts. “Don’t be a child!” There’s black grease on Tony’s nose. Carol hates him.

Tony cuts the music and also stops pretending to smile. 

“Carol. Come in, I guess,” he says. Carol comes in. She’s only been to his workshop a few times, and it’s always been awkward. It’s like walking straight into someone’s bedroom when they have all their sex toys out on the dresser. 

“I need to talk to you,” she says shortly. “Sorry. It’s been a rough few weeks.”

Tony makes a small, slightly ugly noise that means, _Don’t you tell me about horrible weeks,_ and then says, “Okay. What can I do for you?”

“I need an update on the Scarlet Witch situation, for starters,” Carol says. She doesn’t mean to go all military on him. She knows he hates that. But if his defensive mode looks like loud music and grease, hers looks like this.

“Wanda’s here,” Tony says. “She and Pietro are rebonding.” He is pretty sure they are rebonding in the same bedroom, but he is not speculating, and he is _not_ telling Carol. He’d probably want to share rooms too, under the circumstances.

Carol swears under her breath. “Great,” she says. “Well, I’ll check in with my team about that, then.” She hesitates. “Look, how the hell do you do it? Lead a team? You, specifically, _how?”_ Because Carol was in the military, and she was always good at this, and Tony is _Tony._ Their recent respective success rates just don’t add up.

Tony opens his mouth for a comeback, and then decides against it. “About ninety percent of the time, it’s not me doing anything,” he says. “I just have really good people.”

Carol grimaces. "I wish I could blame my failure on them, but it's definitely on me."

Tony sighs, feeling tired. "Okay. What do you think the problem is?"

"I don't think any of our personalities--" Carol gives up. Tony looks exhausted and not in the mood. "How well do you know Jessica Drew?" she asks.

Tony shrugs. "Not too well. We've only run into each other professionally a few times, and personally, less than that. She seems sharp, though." Bruce trying not to Hulk out and kill you sharp.

"Well," Carol says, "we've been fighting nonstop since—for weeks. I thought you might have some insight." She realizes too late that wherever she's trying to take this conversation is a huge fucking mistake.

"Some people just hate each other," Tony says, even though mostly he doesn't believe that as much as he used to. "Anything in particular?"

"It was—well, kind of an interpersonal issue," Carol says roughly. "I—we had some sparks, and—" She doesn't want to say _And I messed up._ She doesn't think she did. She settles for, "She has these damn hormones she puts in the air that make people hate her." That's not quite accurate, either, but nearly.

Tony doesn't answer. Once in a while Carol takes awhile to get to the point, which, considering how down-to-business she usually is, usually means she's done something stupid. Tony crosses his arms and waits.

Carol glares at him, furious with everything in the world. "If you don't know her history, I can't talk to you about this," she says. She's not an _idiot_.

"I know she was in SHIELD, and in Hydra, and I think she used to go by Jessie," Tony says. "Carol, listen, if you don't want to talk to me, why did you bring it up?"

"Because I don't know anyone else I can talk to!" Carol snaps. "About this! Damn it!"

"Carol," Tony says at last. "I don't know what you want."

Carol looks at him. "I fucked up," she says finally. "I fucked up and now it's going to take my team apart."

"Because you can't handle Jessica," Tony says. He shouldn't be pushing, if it's so personal, but it's really hard to help without specifics.

"I said some stupid things," Carol says. She can't admit this to anyone on her team, but she can admit it to Tony. He's the king of saying stupid things. "I had a thing for her, she had a thing for me, but then I found out--uh, about who she used to be." She glowers at the floor. "I didn't even think of how ashamed _you'd_ be of me until about a week ago. I shouldn’t have tried to get involved with someone on my own team."

Tony thinks about that for a couple seconds, and instinctively freezes up before he even has a possible, awful answer.

"What do you mean," he says carefully, "who she used to be?" The HYDRA stuff is common knowledge. As far as Tony knows, that’s Jessica’s one and only big setback as a hero.

“You said,” Carol says flatly. “She used to go by Jesse.”

"Carol," Tony says, throat tight. "Tell me you didn't."

"I did," she snaps. "I did, and I feel awful about it, and knew how you'd feel, too, so don't--I know, okay? But she's being such a psychotic bitch about it."

And what did you say, exactly, to the psychotic bitch?" Tony says, voice bright. "Aside from, _Oh my god, you big liar, how can my lesbian self possibly touch you now?"_

Carol gives him a sour look. "I guess I said something like that. I called her a liar. I told her to get away from me. I asked her why she hadn't told me before. I guess I lost my cool." And all right, maybe Tony is the _worst_ person to have this conversation with.

"Oh my god," Tony says. "Well, I sure feel safe in this room with you right now, let me tell you. I mean, I do, but that's because I'm surrounded by millions of dollars worth of military-applicable robotics that obey my every command."

Carol clenches her teeth and feels furious and guilty. "I wouldn't ever do that to _you_. It's completely different."

"Why, because you never wanted to fuck me?" Tony asks casually.

Carol didn't expect that. "Well--yeah, honestly."

"Funny," says Tony, but he isn't smiling. "Sounds like maybe I fit your criteria better than she does."

"That's not true," Carol snaps. "Have you _seen_ her? I mean, that's all...her. But she could have _told_ me."

"Yeah, you're right," Tony says, gritting his teeth. "It's completely reasonable to expect her to come out to everybody she flirts with. Because it's their business. And they react so well." He's angry enough 

"If we were just friends, maybe," Carol argues, "but she wanted to sleep with me." She is dimly aware that she should not be arguing.

"Smart of you to use the past tense," Tony says.

"Don't worry," Carol says, "she's made it plenty clear that she hates me. And I know I overreacted. But so did she!"

"I see you're not dead or maimed, so clearly she didn't," Tony says. He's furious, he doesn't even have the energy to be this furious, but the worst thing is he really thought Carol was too good for this. He's feeling better and better about his recent habit of only befriending villains. Jessica was a villain one time. Maybe he should befriend Jessica.

"I know you were the wrong person to come to about this," Carol says. "I mean, because the issue's very close to you and all, and that's _fine_ \--" She breaks off and curses. She's just making this worse.

"But you wish you could talk to someone a little more levelheaded?" Tony says through his teeth.

"I wish I could talk to someone I wasn't going to accidentally hurt," Carol grinds out.

"Carol," says Tony, "I really hate you right now." He's thinking, though. There might actually be an appropriate course of action in here somewhere.

"I know!" she says. "Fuck it, Tony, I know. So does Jessica. And I understand why. I just know absolutely jack shit about all this. It's not like you and I talk about it. I can tell some places I'm fucking up, but not others, and I _hate it_."

Oh, Tony thinks. _That's_ it.

"You serious?" he asks. "I mean, do you seriously think you fucked up and seriously want to make things right?"

"Yes!" Carol shouts. "If I didn't think so before, I sure as hell think so now!"

“Okay. Talk to Steve,” Tony says. He really doesn't want to do it himself. He's not in the mood to fix a friend's really horrible opinions. “I mean, I think you could. If you mean it.” 

Steve’s a military man, Carol thinks. He’ll probably be a hell of a lot easier to talk to than Tony.

“Gladly,” she says.

"Oh good," Tony says tiredly. He turns away and talks to a screen. "Hey, Steve. You around?"

"I'm around," Steve says almost immediately. He's been answering fast since Obadiah.

"Great," Tony says, making sure Steve can hear that he means it. "Listen, um, Carol is here. I was thinking of sending her up to talk to you, if that's okay?"

"Uh, it's fine," Steve says. "Does she not...want to talk to you?"

"Not really," Tony says. "I keep using violent language."

Now Steve has _zero_ idea what this is about. "Well, sure, I can talk to her. Going to give me a hint?"

"Remember that time I came out to you?" Tony says.

"Yes," Steve says in a slightly strangled voice. "Why?"

“Imagine your name is Carol, and then imagine an outcome in which you and I never have had and never will have sex,” says Tony. He can see Carol in the periphery. He’s enjoying her expression.

“Okay,” Steve says after a second. “Send her my way. I don’t know how much use I’ll be, but I’ll try.”

"You're perfect," Tony says, in all seriousness. "Where are you?"

"Working out," Steve says, which is usually the answer. "I can meet her somewhere."

"Oh, I'll just send her there," Tony says. "You can lock the door."

"Great," Steve says, a little unsure. "Well, uh, looking forward to it. And I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah," Tony says firmly. They both need reassurance, lately. Maybe he would feel self-conscious about it, in front of Carol, but he feels calmer just giving it, and he’s too angry to care what she thinks. "Course. Gonna check on a few things first. And, uh...maybe tidy up a little down here."

"Carol and I should be done by then," Steve says hopefully.

Carol shifts uncomfortably. Nothing about this is making her happy.

"Then I'll see you," Tony says. "Thanks!" He signs off and turns to Carol. "Okay," he says. "You've got a date with my boyfriend. Is there anything else, maybe something less horrifying, you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I just want to hang out some time and talk about how to be a good leader," Carol says miserably.

Tony grimaces. "Yeah, well," he says. "This is probably a good start."

"Thanks," Carol says. "For not kicking my ass, I mean."

“Did I not?” Tony asks. "Shit. I mean, I guess I didn't literally. Hey, I can come up with you. Come on." He gets up and leads her out of the workroom. "I am pissed, just so we're clear. Really pissed. Not happy. But, you're my friend, so you get one chance to not be a dick."

"I know," Carol mutters. It's an unfair world, where she's the one making mistakes and Tony's the one correcting them. "Thanks for that." 

~

An hour or so later, although she doesn’t know so, Bobbi heads to the tower in uniform (Mockingbird, not SHIELD), intent on her mission. Granted, her mission is a little embarrassing, since it mostly involves their team screwing up big-time on Genosha and probably causing more problems than it’s solved. She’s looking forward to seeing Clint and Natasha, at least.

She presses the buzzer and waits, too focused to be intimidated by the building. At least until it addresses her.

"Ms. Morse," says the building. "How nice of you to drop by. You've been given clearance to enter." "What?" Bobbi says. "Why?" "You are on the 'probable guest' list. May I ask to whom you'd like to speak today?"

Bobbi glowers, annoyed at being startled. Then she remembers herself, raises her voice, and says, "Black Widow and Hawkeye, please."

"Just one moment," the building says politely. "I'll see if they're available." There's a pause, maybe half a minute long, and then the door opens. "Please take the elevator to the sixth floor, Ms. Morse," the building suggests. "Black Widow and Hawkeye will meet you there."

Bobbi is all for politeness, but this is just a little creepy. It's also creepy knowing that the building is basically watching her, especially if by "the building" you mean Tony Stark. She goes in, though, and does as instructed, checking for cameras that she doesn’t find.

The elevator arrives at the sixth floor and opens onto a hallway. There’s a door adjacent and ajar.

"Jesus," Bobbi mutters. She goes over to the door and knocks, even though it's open.

"Sup!" says Clint loudly.

"It's Mockingbird!" Bobbi announces, before coming in.

“Jarvis said you were coming,” Natasha tells her. “I see you have not been slaughtered by Magneto.”

"Yeah, we heard you got yourselves in kind of a jam," Clint says, raising his eyebrows and giving Bobbi a smile. “I thought Ms. Marvel already came by this morning, though?”

“What?” Bobbi says. “Oh. I don’t know. Maybe it was something personal. I am definitely supposed to talk to you two, though. It was on the agenda!”

“No one could possibly accuse _you_ of being the person on that team who doesn’t keep it professional,” Clint says. “Unlike me, but that’s neither here nor there, huh? Anyway, we haven’t heard anything about Ms. Marvel, so, what’s up?”

Bobbi sighs. "This is embarrassing, guys," she says. "I know we went in cold and messed up. We could have gotten people killed. He just held us for a little while and let us go, though. We didn't even make it to Wanda."

"Do you know where she is now?" Natasha asks inscrutably, arms crossed.

Bobbi shakes her head, feeling like a stupid kid in the principal’s office. “Probably still on Genosha.”

“Not quite,” says Clint.

"What?" Bobbi leans against the doorframe, trying not to be startled. "You're kidding. Where is she, then?"

"Siddown," Clint offers. "You're too flittery up there." He smiles at her again to show he's not being horribly offensive. Bobbi rolls her eyes and takes a seat next to him. 

"That better?" she asks. She likes Clint. She's missed having him around. She's still not sure about Natasha.

"That is _great,"_ Clint says. "Wanda's here."

" _What?_ " Bobbi demands.

"She walked in on us during a meeting last night," Natasha says, still grimly unreadable. "No warning, no trouble with JARVIS. Apparently Magneto let her know your team were paying a call, and she wrangled a--visitation with her twin."

“I walked by on the way here,” Clint adds. “I think they’re making French toast. Smelled like French toast, anyway!”

Bobbi wrinkles her nose. At least they haven't engineered a disaster, but this is still incredibly embarrassing. "Are we ever going to have a mission that isn't hijacked or shut down by you guys?" she asks.

"If Ms. Marvel operates within her means," Natasha says.

"Sorry!" Clint says over her. "We didn't even derail you on purpose this time! She just showed up! And she's fucking terrifying," he adds in a low voice, "so, man, I almost wish you'd kept her."

Bobbi glares at Natasha. No, she remembers how she feels, now. "Thanks, Clint," she says. "Is she exhibiting any signs of instability or inability to control her powers?"

"No," Clint admits. "Not yet. She's just...okay, imagine a really, like, profoundly normal, sort of boring teenage girl, and then try to figure out why this charismatic, fucked-up superkid would be completely crazy about her, and _then_ imagine that the teenage girl is actually a nuclear bomb." Natasha grits her teeth as Clint talks, because he's not supposed to have noticed this, and he's _very much_ not supposed to be telling anybody else.

Bobbi whistles. "Carol knew something was up. That's why we checked in with Wanda in the first place."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean there's anything to be done about it," Natasha says. "Ms. Marvel is too rash. If she knows we agree with her assessment, she will act. If she acts, we could lose Wanda, Pietro, and the peace between humans and mutants."

Bobbi is about to defend Carol, but even if Natasha's kind of a pain, she's not wrong. Still, Bobbi's not going to give up that easily.

"So, what," she demands, "you just want us to step out? This is our mission."

"There is no mission," Natasha says. "You shouldn't have been there at all. Now Magneto has exactly the leverage he needs to pay back our team for a—perceived wrong. We have no choice but to wait it out, and if there is one misstep, your 'mission' and her sibling will pay for it."

Clint looks uncomfortable, but he doesn't disagree.

Bobbi stands up. "I think I should go," she says. "I have to discuss strategy with my boss." She emphasizes the last two words slightly. She's not choosing sides; she already chose.

“Bobbi,” Clint starts.

“Then I can discuss things with you,” Bobbi says firmly.

Clint follows her out the door. "We're not trying to stonewall you or anything," he whispers. "You just--I mean, it's kind of obvious you can't tell the kid you're on her side and then try to get between her and Pietro, right? You can't just grab her. She's a person, and all that."

"Do you think we're _stupid_?" Bobbi demands. And okay, some of them are, but she's not. Luke and Jess and T'Challa aren't. "We're not about to throw her in a cell. You now I'm not S.H.I.E.L.D., right?"

"I'm not that worried about you," Clint says. Mostly he's just worried about her boss. "I'm saying, your exact plans probably aren't going to matter very much to Wanda if they're not her idea. It’s gonna be really dangerous, Bobbi. And, listen, she might freak me out a little, but Pietro's a good kid, and can't handle a big shock right now. I mean, seriously can't."

Bobbi swallows. She hasn't even met the kid, and she feels terrible about the whole thing. "I don't want to mess him up," she says. "I know he's had a tough time. I just really do want to help." And she wants to make sure their team doesn't fall apart, but that's not Clint's problem.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of your team," Clint says, "but you can always make an excuse to come and see _me._ That might help you get to know Wanda."

Bobbi wrinkles her nose. "Clint Barton, are you making a pass at me?"

"Uh, no," Clint says quickly. "No, because I'm not stupid."

"Right," Bobbi says, "that _would_ be stupid. Because, why? Because I'm out of your league?" She shouldn't be playing stupid games right now, but she can't help it. She’s missed Clint. He's more comfortable to be around than anyone else at SHIELD or on her new team.

"Well," Clint says, but he's tongue-tied now. Nice going, big fella. "You know, weirdly enough, _Loki_ is really good at making this kind of shit come together. Maybe you should be talking to him. Her. Loki." He makes a nervous laugh that marks the end of any chance he ever had with Bobbi Morse.

Bobbi frowns. "What?" she says. She doesn't know what part she's saying what to. All of it.

"What?" Clint says back. He is the worst at speaking. He senses Natasha making a grumbling sound, slipping past and vanishing down the hall away from them both. He hadn't even remembered she was there, which is even worse.

"I have no idea why we're talking about Loki, or why he's a girl now, or why all of you are suddenly best friends with him," Bobbi says evenly.

"Ohhh," says Clint. "Um. Well. First. Loki is good at personnel issues. And making plans. Second, sometimes... _sometimes_...Loki is a girl. Or some other things. And third, is kind of complicated, but Loki's actually pretty okay, and also we overthrew their dad and I killed their brother and now I teach Loki archery. And he and Tony are like, best friends."

Bobbi blinks. "You're the weirdest team of superheroes ever. I really don't understand why you're doing better than us."

"I have no idea," Clint says frankly. "I think it's the funding. Are you still operating out of Luke Cage's living room?"

"Gradually expanding to the rest of the house," Bobbi says, smiling ruefully. "But honestly, if Carol and Jessica don't get their personal shit together soon, I don't know how long this team's going to last."

"Personal shit with each other?" Clint asks. "Because I have not heard that either of them have yielding personalities, exactly."

"No one knows what even happened," Bobbi says. She doesn't feel friendly enough with Carol to care about gossiping, and she's doesn't know enough details to feel bad for talking about Jessica. "Well, Luke knows, I think. He keeps looking all grim and superior. But they _hate_ each other."

"Well, that tears it," Clint says. "Better come join up with us instead. All our weird problems end in friendship and makeouts, so."

Bobbi laughs. "I can't think of anyone on your team I'd make out with."

"Haha," Clint says, smiling broadly. God, he is the worst failure. He and Bobbi should _switch_ teams. And Bobbi should never come near him again, because he seriously forgot what having her nearby did to him until she came over and _did it at him._

She smiles and pats his arm. "Relax, cowboy. I'd totally make out with Natasha. I should go."

"Okay, yeah," Clint says helplessly. Oh, god, _make out with Natasha._ She should do that. He would do that. He does not want that at _all._ "Nice seeing you. I'll let you know if I think of anything useful."

"Chatting was useful," Bobbi tells him. "Useful and confusing. I'll see you, okay?" She waves and heads out, feeling more awkward than like a coy, sexy tease.

"See ya," Clint says, once she's gone. Everything about him is _terrible._ He decides to go out and get donuts for breakfast, lots of donuts, only for him. There is no reason that donuts wouldn't be enough to make him forget that Bobbi is a perfect, hot, normal, funny human in the middle of a storm of lovable, but nonetheless crazy, freaks.


	13. clint is a party monster (and the avengers make dinner)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I thought you always said not to trust anyone who wasn't like us," she whispers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: not really

Clint is standing at Pietro’s door, trying not to look preemptively horrified in case the rumors are true and Pietro and Wanda are _way_ too close for siblings. Dinner is in Clint’s apartment tonight. He does not really believe it’s _his_ duty, as host, to leave and round up all the stray guests who don’t RSVP. However, he also lost at rock-paper-scissors, and Natasha takes her victories seriously.

 _Don’t listen to gossip,_ he tells himself. _Don’t, don’t, don’t, stop making faces._ He knocks.

Wanda gets up from where she’s nestled between Pietro, a pile of newspapers, and a laptop that apparently is _Pietro's_. She smiles down at Pietro before she answers the door.

“Hi,” she says, not quite brightly enough, when she sees Clint.

"Er," says Clint. "Hey! We're making dinner at my place. My place, upstairs. You guys want some?"

Pietro doesn't look up from the screen. "Yeah, sure. When?"

"Now?" Clint says. It's already nearly eight. He's not sure when Pietro thinks food should _be._ In Clint's opinion, the answer is _before now._

Wanda goes back over to Pietro and offers him a hand up. "We should go, right?" Her head hurts, and she doesn't really want to see people, but if Pietro says it's a good idea, she'll do it.

"Yeah!" says Pietro. "You said you wanted to meet everybody for real, right?"

"I do," Wanda says hesitantly. She smiles at him. "No, I really do." She turns to Clint. "Who else will be there?"

"Avengers-in-residence," Clint says. "Me, Natasha, Tony, Steve. Not too many, right?" Not _enough,_ if Wanda decides they're a threat.

"I guess," Wanda agrees. The number doesn't matter so much as what they're like. She was actually looking forward to seeing Doctor Banner again. Oh well, next time. If they keep her through this time.

“So we should go?” Pietro asks Wanda.

“We should go,” she says. “I think I’ll be better with people now that I’ve had sleep and food and stuff.”

"Great!" Clint says, not feeling _spectacularly_ great. "C'mon." Pietro gets up to follow and then leans down again to shut the computer. Pietro frowns at it for a second before shutting it, and keeps frowning a little all the way out the door. Clint does not know what that is all about. He just really doesn’t want anything to go up in flames.

Wanda sticks close to Pietro as they follow Clint to his apartment. She manages to get all the way there without feeling wildly uncomfortable. Then, when she gets inside, she’s reminded all over again how little she has in common with these people.

"They're _okay,"_ Pietro murmurs. "And I'll get you out of here if they're not. I'll take care of you."

"Adorable youngsters retrieved," Clint says. The only person Wanda can see is Natasha, who is wearing completely normal, comfortable clothes. Wanda has heard of Natasha, and she’s seen pictures. She hadn’t actually imagined Black Widow could dress like anything else. Natasha, when they enter, gives a cursory wave. She doesn’t look very friendly, despite her casual wear. Wanda swallows.

Steve calls out from the kitchen, "Don't use that kind of language, Clint, or the youngsters might take offense."

Tony emerges, a bit of sauce on his chin, and waves enthusiastically at them. "Cooking!" he says. "Where have you two been all day?"

"Making up for lost time," Pietro says.

"I know that feeling," calls Steve. He emerges with browned chicken and a pile of onions and carrots. He is wearing an apron. He feels domestic and pleased about it. It’s his reward for getting through his entire conversation with Carol without throwing any furniture.

Tony, on the other hand, has forgotten about Carol completely, apart from a small, nagging ache in the back of his mind. He beams at Steve. "Look at you," he says approvingly.

Wanda takes a few more tentative steps into the room. "You're all really friendly," she says. It doesn't sound like a commitment one way or the other.

"Rogers once threw me against a wall by my neck," Clint offers. "Natasha isn't friendly at all." Natasha smiles, slow, curling, and catlike. Pietro looks at Wanda hopefully.

Wanda can't imagine Steve throwing any of his friends against a wall. "Uh, _why_?" she asks, staring at both of them.

"I, uh," Clint says. "I may have said some foolish words."

Pietro says, "I don't know _anything_ about this," raising expectant eyebrows.

"I think it can stay like that," says Steve firmly. "Whoops! Bread!" He dives back into the kitchen.

Tony rolls his eyes and sits down, gesturing for Wanda and Pietro to join him. "Clint is the best," he tells Wanda. "He doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut at _all_."

They're all weirdly normal, Wanda thinks. She must be missing something.

"I know how to keep my mouth shut!" Clint protests. "I just save it for when it counts. Like when I'm taking down HYDRA. Or _killing gods._ Let’s not forget _that_ little venture.”

...Missing something like that.

Steve jogs back to the kitchen for the sauce and says, turning around, "It's true, between the two of us, you're a lot more graceful at dethroning Asgardian royalty."

Wanda smiles tentatively at everyone. She still doesn't know if she's scared or pleased. "You can kill gods?" she asks Clint. "I thought you were just, you know, normal." Natasha snorts.

"I am extremely normal," Clint says. Pietro smiles at Wanda and shrugs. He wasn't there for that, and he's still a little fuzzy on what exactly _happened,_ and why the Avengers were in Asgard at all. If Thor and Loki hate their family that much, Pietro isn't one to judge. And he’s really never going to ask.

"He's a really good shot," Pietro says simply.

"Good," Wanda says. "If he's on your side." If he's not, she'll--But he is.

"You are _scary,"_ Clint tells her.

"Everyone threatens you, Clint," Steve says. "I don't know why Wanda should be any different. Everyone can start." He gestures to the food and takes a seat.

Tony, taking a bite, is beaming so hard at Steve that he's not looking anywhere else. Natasha is smiling at Clint’s chatter like she’s not entirely terrifying. Pietro is pink and happy. Wanda mostly feels overwhelmed and confused. This isn't what she was told about the Avengers at all.

"It's really good," she says after a minute. _Oh, God, what if it's poison?_ But that's a crazy thought.

"I'm recently as normal as Clint," Steve says. "So I'm seeking self-improvement, one skill at a time. Not that my cooking was bad before, right?"

"I can't say anything, or you'll threaten me," Clint says dolefully. Natasha passes him the vegetables.

" _Too_ normal," Wanda mutters.

Natasha, who has been wordless since Wanda and Pietro got here, loses her friendliness and shoots Wanda a _cold_ look. "Indeed," she says.

"Don't worry, it gets weirder," Pietro says. "You haven't met the wolf yet!"

"Uh, she hasn't met _Loki_ yet," Clint corrects him.

"I don't know how weird it is," Steve says contemplatively. "They're really a very stable family."

"Oh my god," Clint says cheerfully.

"Fenrir's not really that weird," Pietro amends. “Just big.”

"What?" Wanda asks. "I, I, I don't...Sorry, this is all so much." She gives Pietro a desperate, teary smile. She can feel Natasha watching her.

Pietro's smile vanishes instantly. "Hey," he says, but he can't figure out what to say next. Which is wrong, because it's Wanda.

"Sorry," Clint says. "I'm _told_ I talk too much?"

Steve waves him off. "We didn't ask you to dinner to give you a hard time," he says to Wanda. "The Avengers are a lot like a family, and we've been fostering Pietro for awhile. Now that you're here we want to welcome you, too. The last thing we want is to scare you off. We don't--well, a lot of us bite, but nobody here has any plans to bite _you."_ He gives Natasha a look that encourages agreement.

Natasha shrugs. "If you mean us no harm, then likewise."

Wanda wipes her eyes, feeling stupid. "My dad was wrong about you, Cap." At least, she thinks he was.

Steve puts down his fork and frowns. "I'll make you a deal, Wanda," he says. "You tell me anything your dad says about me, and I'll tell you the truth about it. Good or bad. Okay? Doesn't have to be now, but that's an open invitation."

He's offering her what Magneto never does--open access to information. Steve’s found one of Wanda’s weak points.

"Okay," she says in a small voice.

Steve smiles. “Eat up,” he suggests. Wanda nods and does.

“Did you have a good day, Pietro?” Natasha asks, after a minute.

Pietro smiles at her. "Yeah, I did," he says. "I was showing Wanda everything we've been doing since I joined up. You know, newspapers and whatever."

"You keep that stuff?" Clint asks.

Pietro blushes. "Mostly only the good things," he says.

"Me too," says Clint, and Pietro snorts and throws an onion at him.

"Hey, now," Steve says. "This is _perfect_ food. Use a spoon next time."

"He's doing a really good job," Wanda bursts out. Stupid. As if they don't know that.

Tony just smiles at her. "Yeah, that's one reason we want Pietro on the team."

"Well, we had to get someone good to replace Cap, now that he’s all limp and sad," Clint says, showing Steve his teeth.

Steve winces, not entirely putting it on, but then he shrugs. "I'm just getting back on my feet," he says. "I'm glad Pietro joined up just when I quit. I'm glad we get to work together, too."

Pietro is bright red, staring at his plate so hard he half expects it to break in two.

Wanda half doesn't believe it. These people love her sibling. They want him to be okay. She should feel good about that, but she feels a little sick, instead. "I'm glad you're taking care of him," she says.

Tony clears his throat and takes a sip of water. "Well, you know."

Pietro looks up at him quickly. "They're superheroes!" he says. "Also they're kind of into lost causes. Also Logan pushed them into it."

"He only pushed Tony," Clint corrects him. "The rest of us are just nice."

"I'm nice. I just _don't like Logan,"_ Tony mutters.

"We'll take anyone with skills and a good heart," Natasha says. She's making Wanda nervous because she won't _smile_.

"Kinda wish this conversation were notaboutme," Pietro says.

Natasha laughs, finally. "I'm sorry," she says. "We can discuss something else. Next, my embarrassing flaws as relayed to me by Jan earlier this week."

"Thank god for girlfriends," Pietro says without thinking.

Natasha blushes, something she never, ever does.

"Um, _what?_ " Tony asks.

"Friends who are girls?" Pietro says hopefully.

"Oh my God," Tony says. "Natasha!"

Natasha, her composure back in place, takes a bite of chicken and raises her eyebrows at him.

"Wait, seriously?" Clint says. "For real? Oh, my god, for real. How did I not know that? How did you _hide it?_ I mean, you're a sexy super secret agent, but Jan is like, the most massive gossip I have ever met."

"Not you?" Steve asks politely.

"I already _am me,"_ Clint says.

"Privacy is important to me, so she made it important to her," Natasha says. "I don't like my business being made public. I trust you'll respect that."

"Of course," Tony says promptly. He's clearly pleased, though.

"I'm really sorry," says Pietro, wide-eyed.

"It's fine," Natasha tells him firmly. "I had no intention of keeping it a secret forever. Although I wonder how you found out. And now that the rest of the team is...mm. It just hadn't come up."

"The _rest of the team,"_ Clint grumbles.

"Except Clint," Natasha amends.

"You're all gay?" Wanda blurts out. No—not right. That can’t be right, right?

The Avengers think about this.

"Kinda, yeah," Clint says. “Loosely speaking.”

"Oh," she says. "Um, cool. So you're not going to be mean to Pietro, then." Unless they are. You never know.

"Oh, god!" Pietro says. "No! No, no, they're not mean. They're really good, I told you." He probably should have told her he meant _that_ kind of good.

"I didn't know," Wanda says. "People can be really nice and then turn out to have one thing they're still horrible about." She and Pietro know all about that. They're bound to be _something_ everyone hates.

Pietro laughs. "Don't worry. I already teach them important lessons about racism and mutants and other valuable shit. They're improving."

Wanda doesn't know how to trust people who are so many things she's been taught never to trust. She thought Pietro would agree. "Oh. Good, I guess."

"We try," Tony says, sounding like he means it.

Pietro reaches over under the table and squeezes Wanda's hand. She squeezes back, smiling to hide how confused she is. "I thought you always said not to trust anyone who wasn't like us," she whispers.

"I might have been a little wrong," Pietro says.

"Good," Wanda says, not sure if she means it. She feels a little out of touch with her identity, or with the room around them.

"Later," Pietro whispers, a promise.

"So Wanda," Clint says. "I shoot things, Cap is noble, Pietro is fast as hell. What are you proud of? You must at least have higher self esteem than this kid, right?"

Wanda takes a second to decide she's not offended on Pietro's behalf. Then she tries to think about herself. "Um," she says. "My magic is good. I'm good at protecting people."

She can feel Natasha's eyes on her again.

"Yup," Pietro agrees, not noticing. He nudges her.

"And I'm just learning everything else I can do with it," she says. "Magneto is helping--Uh, I mean--I don't, sorry." She trails off, suddenly afraid.

Steve shakes his head. "You don't have to be sorry for anything," he says. "You live with your father; of course he's talking to you about your magic. It would be foolish not to." He tries not to look at Pietro while he's speaking, though, because mostly he just wants to find Magneto and give him a black eye for what he's done to his other kid--regardless of whatever it is Wanda considers _help._

"I'm not fond of the man," Steve says firmly. "But if there's one thing I've learned on this team, it's how to reevaluate. And if there's anything in this _country_ worth fighting for, it's the right to disagree wildly with your neighbors and still live in peace."

Tony makes a face that's probably disagreement, but he's staring so hard at Steve that he forgets to say anything.

"You can't be real," Wanda says, and for a split second she thinks that's literally true.

Steve looks startled, and then he laughs. "I, uh," he says. "I don't know whether that's a compliment."

"You're just catching him on a good day," Clint says, grinning. And taking seconds. "You should see him mired in post-serum depression."

"Be good," Tony says, but without much feeling. He loops his arm around Steve's waist, clearly done eating.

"I'm chastened," says Clint to his dinner.

All Wanda can think of is how this is different from Genosha. On Genosha, she'd be eating with Lorna and Creed and other people she has nothing in common with.

"Well then, Wanda, will you stay longer?" Natasha asks after a moment. "Or will you be leaving us soon?"

"Oh," Wanda says. "Uh, I'll stay a few more days, at least. I want to spend some time with Pietro." She doesn't know if that's the answer Natasha was looking for.

Pietro tries very hard not to betray himself. He knows he will if he smiles, so he just nods in agreement and picks at bits of carrot left on his plate.

"You said _yet,"_ Clint says to Pietro. "That does mean you're gonna take her to see the witches, right? How can you _not?"_

Pietro looks up. "Victor and Loki?" he says. He turns to Wanda. "You wanna?"

"Yes!" Wanda says before her brain can catch up with her mouth. Pietro looks so happy, though. Well, she doesn't care what Magneto says about Doctor Doom, she wants to meet all the people Pietro cares about.

"Yeah?" Pietro says. He's glowing a little.

"Of course," Wanda says. She gives him a quick hug. "I can't wait."

"God, this is cute," Clint says. "This is definitely the cutest dinner I've ever hosted."

"I made it myself," Steve says primly.

Tony kisses the side of his head. "It was perfect."

Natasha still isn't smiling, but she looks a little more relaxed.

Pietro looks Wanda over and says. "Yeah. Thanks, Cap. I think we might--"

"Take off!" says Clint. "No prob. We'll see ya tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah," says Pietro. "Sorry to cut out. Long day."

"Really long," Wanda agrees. She gets up. "Thanks, everyone. I'll see you soon." She grabs Pietro's hand and pulls him along with her.

~

The door closes behind them, and Clint says, "That was not the disaster I foresaw."

"Not on the outside, anyway," Natasha says darkly. It's not as though she even has evidence that anything's wrong, but she still feels incredibly uneasy.

"Which one are you more worried about?" Steve asks. He's not terribly worried about either one, as it happens. Pietro is built of pretty stern stuff, and Wanda wouldn't be the first hyper-powerful, emotionally overloaded sibling they've had around the house.

"I'm worried about her," Natasha says. "But until further notice, I have no intention of doing anything to make the problem worse. I just want to make sure we don't forget how powerful she is, and how young."

"Who could?" Clint says. "You can practically feel her magic walk into the room in front of her."

"Really?" Steve asks.

"Yes, really," Clint says.

"I concur," Natasha says.

"We know she's tough," Tony says. "And we know she's a little wound up. But I think it's going fine. Can we please table this until there's real trouble? I don't want to make some where there isn't any."

"Yes, please," Steve says, and Clint nods.

"So far everyone we've hooked up with has been okay in the end," he says. "Doesn't mean it's not a bumpy ride, though. We should keep an eye out."

"Deal," Tony says. "Okay, I think Steve and I are taking off. Check in tomorrow?"

"Agreed," Natasha says, getting to her feet before they remember to ask her anything else about Jan.

They all move out the door and Clint trails after them. "Night," he says. "That was fun. Thanks for coming over and all."

They're already gone by the time he turns around and remembers the dishes.

"Oh, every _fucking time,"_ he says.

~

As soon as their door shuts behind the twins, Pietro says, “Was that all right?”

“It was,” Wanda says quickly, to diffuse any immediate disaster. Then, more slowly, “I think so, anyway. I don’t think Black Widow likes me very much. And it was all really—well, weird, mostly.” Definitely too good to be true.

Pietro thinks maybe Natasha is mad because Wanda has failed to show up and rescue Pietro at any point before this. He doesn’t want to say that.

He says, “Why? Because they’re normal?”

“Yeah, I guess,” she says. “Has anyone we’ve joined up with before been normal? For more than, like, a week? I’m just scared they’ll turn out not to be.”

“Just like us,” Pietro says. “Wanda, I swear they’re okay. I know, okay? For somanyreasons. Can’t even tell you.” He hopes she doesn’t ask, because he could tell her, and that would be awful. “What, d’you think they’re just trying to get to you, like Ms. Marvel’s team? I’m not bait.”

“I didn’t think that!” Okay, at first maybe she thought that, but not now. “I’m just afraid they’ll turn out to be the other type. The ‘fix you’ type. And we don’t need fixing.” Magneto says they’re fine, more than fine, _better_ than anyone who’d want to change them. Of course they don’t need fixing.

Pietro bites his lip. “I needed a little fixing,” he says.

Wanda wants to yell at him. He never thought that before, or anyway, he never said so. If he did, then Wanda could damn well take care of it. Not a bunch of _strangers_.

“Just promise me you’re okay,” she says, suddenly exhausted. “Because I thought you were pretty great before.”

“You didn’t see me getting not-great on Genosha,” Pietro says, not looking at her. “You didn’t see me before Logan found me.” He wishes he were sitting down, but he can’t make himself move. “He only sent me here at all because he didn’t know what else to do. It’s just luck that they were actually decent enough to give a shit.”

“But you’re fine,” Wanda says, a little frantically, wanting to think about anything but what could have gone wrong with him. “You’re fine.”

“ _Yeah,”_ Pietro says. “Because they let me stay. And because, you know, some of them are kind of fucked up, too.”

For some reason, that’s what Wanda needed to hear. Tonight was too normal. “Good,” she says. “I mean, not good, but—you know. I’m glad they know.”

Pietro smiles. “Tony asked me what pronouns I want to use?” he says. “I shit you not. I mean, I have no idea, I just use boy-ones, I guess, no one's ever asked me that before? But, you know. He was saying it's okay." He shakes his head. "I thought it was going to be a bunch of snotty rich white dudes getting pissed off when I didn’t _improve_ for them or whatever, but it’s not. They’re the good kind of good, Wanda. Sometimes I gotta swear at them until they’re less ignorant, but, I mean. There are worse places.” 

“Oh,” Wanda says quietly. Then she smiles at him. “I believe you. For real, this time.” Now the only bad thing she’s feeling is jealousy.

"Good," Pietro says. "So maybe tomorrow we can really go do stuff, and I won't miss the whole day going by?"

"Uh, yeah," Wanda says, suddenly uncomfortable and not sure why. "You bet. We'll see Loki and Doctor Doom. First thing."

Pietro frowns. "Wanda. You _did_ do that on purpose, right?"

Wanda is halfway through saying, _Do what?_ when she realizes what he's talking about. "Um, oh," she says. "No, I don't think--we just lost track of time, I think."

Pietro doesn't answer. He just looks _worried_ at her.

"It's not a big deal," Wanda says. "Magneto says I just need to focus better so things don't happen if I don't want them to."

"Great help, dad," Pietro says, but his throat tastes bitter as soon as he's said it. "Are you--is it happening a lot now?"

Wanda thinks about it. Really hard. "Um," she says, "I don't know."

Pietro takes her arm and says, "That's really not okay. That's _not_ okay. Wanda, when did--is this just from when I left?" Suddenly Pietro isn't sure, can't remember whether stuff wasn't right when he and Wanda were on their own. He was too close. They were always all there was, so whatever they were seemed right.

"I think maybe it's gotten worse," she says. She feels as though she's moving through molasses. She sometimes feels that way with Pietro, but not usually. "Magneto doesn't always let me know when something happens. I think...I think maybe he can't always tell."

"Shit," says Pietro. He pets her hair and then hugs her, sudden and fast and tight. "Honey, you're right. We're going to Latveria first fucking thing tomorrow morning. They know all about magic there."

That shouldn't sound as comforting as it does. "Okay," she says, holding on to him. "Let's."


	14. carol tries to get things right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica wouldn't want her advice, and besides, Carol is terrible at feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: alcohol use, transmisogyny, outing people, gendered language

When Steve is done lecturing her, Carol goes home and gets a little drunk. Then a lot drunk. Then slightly more sober. And _then_ she goes to Jessica’s place. She feels a hell of a lot worse than she did this morning when she went to talk to Tony. She also feels, weirdly enought, slightly hopeful about salvaging her team, but that could be the bourbon talking.

She presses what she hopes is the right buzzer, flexing her toes until Jessica’s voice comes through.

“Yeah?” Jessica says. She sounds aggressive. She rarely sounds anything _but_ aggressive, lately.

"It's Carol, don't freak out," Carol says. It comes out very calm. Bourbon was a good choice.

Jessica considers freaking out, but she just came in from shaking down some thugs about three minutes ago, and she doesn't have the oomph.

"Do you want to come in or something?" she asks.

"Unless you want to do this with me on the steps," Carol says. "I'd feel pretty fucking stupid. Let me in, I want to say I'm sorry."

"Only you could _start_ an apology by sounding like a total asshole," Jessica says. The static cuts off, long enough for Carol to wonder if that's a no, and then the door buzzes. She swears a couple times and goes up. Worst idea. Good thing it's three flights up and her feet are drunk. Yeah. Fantastic.

Jessica undoes the deadbolt when she hears Carol coming up the stairs, and goes back into the kitchen for some juice. She almost adds vodka to it in a fit of pique, but she's more thirsty than self-sabotaging, and her heart's not really in it anyway.

Carol pauses at the right door and knocks. She'd almost forgotten to be nervous until right now. "Jessica?" she calls.

"Unlocked," Jessica says loudly. She wishes she were in normal clothes, but she'd only gotten her mask off when Carol called up.

Carol comes in. She's still in the old flight jacket she wore to go see Tony, and she feels out of place looking at super tall, super costumed, super gorgeous Jessica.

"Like I said," she tells her. "I came to apologize."

Jessica swirls her glass. "The second this goes south I'm throwing you out a fucking window," she says.

"I can fly," Carol says testily. "Listen, I went and talked to Tony and Steve today. About gender stuff."

Jessica's jaw tightens.

"Did my name come up?" she asks.

"I went to find out how to stop fucking up with you, idiot," Carol says.

"I meant, did you tell them I'm _trans,"_ Jessica says, her voice clipped and slightly too high.

Shit. Well, Carol's doing a great job apologizing so far. "I didn't mean to! I tried not to, I--I'm sorry. I knew I could trust Tony, that's all."

Instead of being blindingly angry, Jessica suddenly doesn't want anything but to cry.

"So what did Tony tell you?" she asks. She isn't _going_ to cry. She _isn't_ going to cry.

"He chewed me out," Carol says. "I think he's still pretty pissed off. Then he sent me to his non-trans boyfriend to get educated about what not to do." She laughs. "God, Steve was at least as stupid as me."

"Apparently not," Jessica says, setting aside the _boyfriend_ confirmation. Not her top priority. "Either that or Tony Stark is a lot more desperate than I'll ever be."

Carol winces. "Okay, fair," she says. "Anyway, he set me straight. Told me some stuff. That's not important. What's important is that I'm sorry."

"Okay," Jessica says. "For what, exactly?"

"For being a bitch," Carol says. "For treating you like you're something you're not."

Jessica swallows. "Like a freak, you mean?" she asks. "Like a liar? Like a man?"

"God, I'm sorry," Carol says. "I--You were so angry I wasn't thinking about how much I, you know, hurt you. Fuck."

"So this is my fault?" Jessica says. "Because you reacted like that and I had a reaction _back?_ Fucking crazy, I know, but after the first time someone treats you like that, you start to keep a little rage on tap."

"I'm doing this wrong," Carol says, trying to calm down. "Look, I _like_ you. Or I did, until you started up with your hate pheromones. I'm sorry I was a dick. That's it."

" _Until I started up with my--"_ Jessica starts, and then puts her glass down with a little thump so she doesn't break it. "You actually believe that shit? Did you ever hear it from _me?_ From the rest of the team? No, you fucking well didn't, and that's because it's not a real fucking thing, okay? The fucking _pheremones_ don't fucking exist. You're not the first person to find out about me and _react badly._ "

Carol takes a step back. "Shit," she says. "Listen, I'm sorry as hell, but would you rather I take off for now? Because I can. I don't have to be in your space."

"Because obviously," Jessica says loudly, as thought Carol hasn't spoken, " _obviously_ no _real woman_ could stand to be in the same _room_ with me, _let alone in my fucking bed."_

"Of course I want to be in your damn bed!" Carol yells. That's not what she meant to say. She feels dizzy with alcohol. "Jesus fucking Christ," she mutters.

Jessica doesn't yell back. She ruins everything by starting to cry.

"Oh, no," Carol says. Crying is the number one thing she doesn't know how to deal with. "No, hey, listen, shit...Jessica, are you okay?"

"It's always going to be like this," Jessica says, tears on her face, squeezing her hands into fists. "Every time I meet someone, it's always going to be like this. I can't ever just be happy because I know they'll find out, and it'll always be a big fucking deal even if it's _okay for them._ What's so fucking bad? Why does it always have to be okay for you people, Carol, why isn't it just fucking _okay?"_

Carol doesn't have an answer. Not any good one. "Because we're stupid?" she suggests after a second. "Jessica, let me grab you a glass of water or something."

"I don't _want_ a glass of water," Jessica says, crying harder. She'll stop soon, probably, but there's always that second when she's crying where she thinks somebody has come along who will see her right and make it so she doesn't have to stop on her own. The worst part is the second after she realizes they're just going to leave her stranded. It feels like being naked, and Jessica doesn't like being naked around very many people. Any, at the moment.

"Well, do you want a hug?" Carol asks desperately.

"I, I don't," Jessica says tearfully, hopeful and horrified in equal measure. "I just want--" She doesn't _know._

That's not right, though, is it? She does know. She wants Carol to have gotten it right. She wants the last month of her life to be something she doesn't have stomach-twisting nightmares about.

Carol crosses her arms, miserable and uncomfortable. "I want to help," she says. "You're my teammate." Nothing Steve told her prepared her for this.

Jessica draws back. "Yeah, well, I'm used to it," she mumbles, tripping over her tongue. Her tears are suddenly dried up, for the moment at least. "I don't really need..."

"I'm not leaving until you seem okay," Carol says, with no idea if that's right or not.

"What, now you're my babysitter?" Jessica says. "I thought you were apologizing."

"I am," Carol says, latching on to that and pulling herself back on track. "I fucked up, I'm sorry, I can't take it back, but I want you to know I won't ever do that to anyone else."

Jessica looks at her quickly. "You--oh." She wipes her eyes. "I appreciate that."

Carol nods. "I want to fix myself," she says. "I want to be better. Because I get that it matters. Okay? This isn't some empty apology."

Jessica stares at her for a few seconds, and then nods.

"Thanks," Carol says. "Thanks for letting me do that." She feels a lot more sober and slightly less like an asshole.

"It's okay," Jessica says. She doesn't mean the stuff Carol's been doing, just the part where she let Carol say anything at all, but it might be okay, at least a little. Assuming Carol doesn't fuck up.

"Then I'm going to leave you with your juice and let you change into some other clothes and get some rest," Carol says. "I want to see you at the meeting tomorrow morning, ten o'clock."

Jessica almost tells Carol not to go, but she doesn't really want her to stay.

"Don't worry," she says. "I'll be there. I never dumped the team." She still _believes_ in the team, although some of them might not think so.

"If you need anything, call me," Carol says, realizing as soon as she says it what a stupid thing it is to say. Jessica wouldn't want her advice, and besides, Carol is terrible at feelings. "I can talk to you about planes," she says.

Jessica laughs. "I remember why I liked you," she says, and feels immediately mean for using the past tense. "I, um, I promise I'll call _somebody,_ if I really need something."

Carol counts that as a pretty big victory. Because no matter how she's felt for the last couple weeks, she really likes Jessica, and she wants her to be okay. "Deal," she says. "That sounds great. I'm going to get some sleep, okay?"

"Sleep off the Jack?" Jessica says. "Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow. You better remember this."

“I will,” Carol says as she lets herself out. “Sleep tight.” The whole way home she feels as if she's walking in a weird bubble of calm. It could be because she's sobering up, but this is the first time in weeks that she's felt this good about the team. Or anything else.

Jessica sits on the floor for awhile. When she gets up, she goes to her bedroom, strips off her work clothes, and takes a look at herself in the full length mirror.

"Yeah," she says. "You're a hottie. You're a hottie and no one's good enough for you."

She takes a long shower before she gets into bed, and she makes sure to get Carol all the way out of her mind before she goes to sleep.


	15. team marvel starts a new chapter or whatever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We could fight HYDRA," Jessica says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: alcohol abuse

Carol isn't feeling particularly like a leader in the morning, but she calls the meeting. It's _always_ awkward, since it’s at Luke and Jess’s and Danny's house, and anyway, she's being drinking for long enough to know how to mostly avoid a hangover. You don't get far in the military if you show up to work hung over every day.

When she shows up, five minutes early, everyone else is already there. They're either punctual or they have no lives.

Jessica is sitting in the corner, looking nearly as grim as usual. Carol swallows and tries not to look how she feels. Did her apology help or not? Jessica isn’t saying anything, but she’s not shouting anything, either. Makes it hard to tell.

"Okay, people," Carol says, trying to rally herself, and trying not to stare like some sort of grotesque puppy. Don’t get distracted. "Anyone have anything to report before we get started?"

"Nothing new on our end," Jess says. "Quiet evening."

"More or less," says Danny.

"Did you contact Black Widow and Hawkeye?" T'Challa asks Bobbi.

"Um," Bobbi says, uncharacteristically nervous. "Okay, yes, and I think you need to know this. The Avengers have Scarlet Witch. She's staying with them."

" _What?_ " Carol demands, loudly enough that her head throbs.

Danny laughs. "Oh my god. Of course she is. How did that happen?"

"She came of her own accord," Bobbi says. "To see her brother."

Luke shakes his head. "Figures. I guess I might have done the same."

"I suppose our interference must have awakened some doubt in her mind about her father's account," T'Challa says. "Perhaps she wished to see for herself whether her brother had left her behind of his own free will."

"So we did something right," Carol says angrily. "I can't believe this!"

"For what it's worth, I think you were right," Bobbi says. "About her being dangerous. Hawkeye agrees."

"Like he would know," Danny says smoothly.

"If you don't mind my saying," T'Challa says to him, leaning forward, "I think perhaps you only say that from professional jealousy?"

Bobbi glares at Danny. "T'Challa's right. Not that it matters, no one ever gives Hawkeye the respect he deserves. He's literally the best in the world at what he does."

"This isn't an Avengers admiration party," Carol mutters.

Danny shrugs. "Takes a real brave guy to fight people at a distance," he says.

Jess puts a hand on his shoulder and says, "Why does Hawkeye think Wanda's dangerous, Bobbi?"

Bobbi shrugs. "It sounds like she's normal, but she's got _something_ going on. She's way too powerful, like she's just a time bomb waiting to go off."

"Maybe being with her brother will help," Jess says. "Although we’ve seen for ourselves that he’s not particularly stable, either."

"No _kidding_ ," Bobbi says. "Sounds like the Avengers know it, though."

"Great, so they've stolen our entire operation," Carol snaps. "That's so helpful. They clearly want to undermine us so we fall apart."

"Honestly, Carol, I don't think they care enough to do that," Danny says. "Should we call ourselves the Failsafes? That might be a band name already."

"We are not anybody's failsafe," Carol says furiously. "Those idiots are in over their heads. Stark doesn't know how to deal with a threat like Scarlet Witch." Tony's her friend, but he's never had what it takes for half the operations necessary in a business like theirs.

“Neither do we," T'Challa says. "Wanda Maximoff is not an alien threat; she is as native as you are. And she is a child. _And_ I believe she has more power in her magic than our entire team put together."

"At least the Avengers are friends with a bunch of magic types," Danny says. "Even if they are nominally evil."

Carol sneers at _nominally_ , but she just says, "So what do you want to do now? Just sit here and wait for her to blow up?"

"I suppose we could make a claim for visiting her," Jess says. "Just to say hi and check in."

"Apologize for breaking into her room?" T'Challa suggests.

"--But beyond that I really don't see what we could do, Carol. Except frighten her into doing exactly what you're afraid of."

Carol swears under her breath, but she can't exactly argue with that.

"I want to check in," Luke agrees. "The Avengers might be a pretty good team, but none of 'em are too good with people. Maybe Wasp, but even that's debatable."

"I reiterate, they have charmed Doctor Doom," Danny says. "I think that possibly makes them a pretty _bad_ team that is _very_ good with people.”

"Doctor Doom and a teenage girl ain't quite the same thing," Luke says.

"Yeah, but Loki might be," Jessica says from the corner, which startles everyone who has forgotten that she’s perched back there. "It'll be really ironic if Wanda saves herself from Magneto just to turn supervillain with the Avengers."

"Ironic and _horrible_ ," Bobbi says. "Isn't there something we can do?"

"Clearly not!" Carol says, jarred. Jessica is here and doing business like normal and everything is a mess.

"They probably won't turn her into a supervillain," Jess says soothingly.

"Probably," Bobbi echoes sadly.

"Fine," Carol says, rubbing her temples. Okay, she didn't entirely avoid a headache. "Fine, let's try to focus ourselves elsewhere, then."

"There must be something to do," Danny says. "I don't feel like I should have to leave the continent every time I want to fight evil. Or like, anyone with worthwhile martial arts skills."

"We could fight HYDRA," Jessica says.

Everyone's quiet for a second. Then Luke says, "You sure that's a good idea?"

"No, I agree," Carol says, surprising herself. "Why _doesn't _anyone ever try taking them down for good? The Avengers sure don't."__

__"Yeah, but--" Luke stops when Carol glares at him._ _

__"I'm up for it," Danny shrugs. "I mean, we do have resources, right? Right?" He looks at Jessica, because he doesn’t believe in pulling punches._ _

__"If we don't now, we could get them," Jess says. "And despite what a bad week can tell us, we're not lightweights."_ _

__Carol shoots Jess a grateful look. There's a reason Carol wanted her on the team._ _

__"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Luke asks Jessica._ _

__“Why not?” Jessica says._ _

__"Aside from the fact that they’re an old, huge, powerful organization that’s never been beat? There's a lot of history there," Luke says. "They probably know all kinds of ways to hurt you. You sure you're ready to open that door?"_ _

__"As long as I get to punch them in their faces on the other side," Jessica says._ _

__"I'm pretty into this plan," says Danny._ _

__"I'm always on board for beating up evil agencies," Bobbi agrees. Jess nods thoughtfully and Jessica raises her eyebrows._ _

__Luke smiles, although it's a little half-hearted. "Okay," he says. "I'm on board."_ _

__"If the whole organization is our goal," Jess says, "I think we'll need to work out exactly what their forces are like. And who's in charge, now, and everywhere they're based."_ _

__"My intel's all old," Jessica says. "I'm sure I know someone who's been close to them more recently could help point us in the right directions."_ _

__"We talking beating information out of someone?" Luke asks. "'Cause I'm good for that."_ _

__"Not my first thought," Jessica says. "But that's good, Luke, we'll keep that beating people up on tap."_ _

__"It's a valuable skill," Danny says._ _

__"It comes in handy," Carol says, while Luke frowns. "But for now, I think we should keep this quiet. I'd rather get as far as we can before they're onto us." She's all for changing in with both guns blazing, but HYDRA is _huge_._ _

__"Are we really going after _everything?"_ Danny asks. "Because okay, fine, but jeezus."_ _

__"Why the hell not?" Carol says. "They take our mission, we'll just go do something else useful. Like take out an entire organization."_ _

__"Jeezus," Danny says again. "So who's up? Jessica and I are gonna be the most use on intel. Unless you let Bobbi talk to SHIELD after all."_ _

__"I don't want them in on this," Carol says. "I know how much shit they give the Avengers."_ _

__Bobbi nods. "If we need it, I think I can comb their databases without their knowledge."_ _

__Danny grins. "No wonder Hawkeye thinks you're sexy."_ _

__Bobbi doesn't even blush. "Yeah, that’s probably it."_ _

__"Oh, God," Carol says. "Well, that's horrifying. Can I make a no-dating-Avengers rule?"_ _

__"Oh, score," Danny says, ignoring Carol. "I didn't know. You just kept defending him. The Defenders? I think that's a thing, too."_ _

__"I didn't say I liked him," Bobbi says. "But he gets so cute and awkward when I yell at him about stealing our teenage witch."_ _

__"You'll have to go back and do it again," Jess suggests._ _

__"Bobbi deserves better," Danny says. "Or, no, right? Because he is _the best at what he does."__ _

__"I'll decide what I deserve," Bobbi says, but she sounds smug._ _

__"HYDRA," Carol says loudly, hoping it brings people back._ _

__"Nobody deserves that," Jessica mutters. She gets up. "I got places I can start. When do we _reconvene?"__ _

__"Six o’clock," Carol says. "I want to keep a close eye on this op. We don't want anything getting lost in the shuffle. Danny, you poke around. Jessica, follow what you know but don't even think about getting in over your head. Bobbi, no SHIELD--but do what you can. Everyone good with that?"_ _

__Luke nods. "For now, yeah."_ _

__"I will go to the Wakandan embassy and gather information about HYDRA's whereabouts and recent visible activities," T'Challa says. He leaves, quite cheerfully, before anyone has a chance to comment._ _

__"Great," Jessica says, heading for the door._ _

__Danny leans over until his head is on Jess's lap, and crosses his legs over the arm of the couch._ _

__"I guess this is not our leisurely day off after all," he says. "Sorry, sweeties."_ _

__Carol sometimes feels like her team is actually made up of competent people with real skills. She sometimes does not. She tries to ignore Danny lying on Jess._ _

__"I'll see what SHIELD might have turned up," Bobbi says. "Without getting caught, of course."_ _

__"Luck!" says Jess. She pats Danny's hair and looks up at Luke. "You gonna stay in with me, honey?" she asks. "There are plenty of chores."_ _

__"Lucky me," Luke says, but he says it with a smile. "Yeah, I'm staying."_ _

__"And I'll be on call if anyone needs backup," Carol says. "You all have my number. See you tonight!"_ _

__They nod agreeably. Jessica and Bobbi head out the door. Danny, despite his assertion that he is working, lies there speakingly. Carol gets up and leaves before Danny and the other two can do anything alarming. It's not the worst meeting she's ever run, she tells herself._ _

__When she gets to the bottom of the stairs, Jessica startles her by still being there._ _

__"So I guess you picked up that suggestion and ran with it," she says. "Are you bored, making amends, or really into dangerous plans?"_ _

__"More like tired of being useless," Carol says, stopping a few steps from the bottom. "I put this team together for a reason, and it was a solid suggestion you had. They do need to be taken out."_ _

__Jessica nods, and pushes the front door open. She holds it for Carol._ _

__"Luke's right," she says. "We’re probably going to have to get close. You're probably not going to like it."_ _

__"If you get hurt, I'll fucking kill someone," Carol says. "You're on my team, all right?"_ _

__Jessica smiles briefly. "I'll try not to get caught," she says._ _


	16. danny rand doesn't like solicitous boyfriends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "He's not our property," she says. "That's not how we do this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: relationship tension, D/s politics

“Okay,” Carol says, “Anyone turn up anything useful?"

It’s six o’clock, and Carol is already breathing easier because they’ve made it through their first recon of this project without a single disaster.

"I have everything S.H.I.E.L.D. has," Bobbi says, waving a flash drive. "I haven’t sifted through, and I'm not sure how much is useful, but it's a start."

T'Challa sets down a small device and calls up a map of New York.

"I have mapped HYDRA's local whereabouts, according to satellite observations that Wakanda may be able to access," he says. "Other hiding places may exist, but these ought to be the most populated, and popular."

"That one," Jessica says, pointing. "That's one of the main hubs in New York. They rotate them, but that's a good central point for a lot of activity because it has easy access to a lot of resources and doesn't get a lot of attention from the locals."

Carol is surprised and how much they're giving her. Maybe not such a wasted effort after all. "Great," she says, trying not to sound stunned. "Uh, Danny, did you turn anything up?"

"The leadership has changed hands lately," Danny says. He glances at Jessica. "HYDRA's New York operations are now headed by Viper."

"She's in _charge?"_ Jessica demands.

"Signs point to yes," Danny tells her.

"She was never that--" Jessica starts, and then shakes her head. "Coulda been me, that's what I get for turning good."

Carol never expects Jessica to as blunt and harsh as she is. It's--not attractive, because they're past that, but. She appreciates it.

"What's the deal with Viper?" Bobbi asks. "I don't think I've run across her."

"One of HYDRA's charity cases," Jessica says. "You know, orphaned, pissed off, no adult oversight. Unlike some of them, she's never died or second-guessed them. I guess it's not that surprising she's been promoted. She's a loyal little snake."

"Sounds like you don't have any fond feelings for her," Bobbi says cautiously.

Carol doesn’t want to think about who Jessica does and doesn’t have fond feelings for. She says, "Is this going to be a problem?"

"What, for us, or for me?" Jessica says. "Yes, she'll be a problem. She's been trained to fight and outthink people since she was a kid, and these people are her family. I'm pretty sure she's going to make herself into a problem when we start taking down her family."

"Does anyone want to rethink taking on HYDRA?" Carol asks. Better to find out now, if so.

"I might," Luke says, and Danny’s expression shifts subtly.

There are a couple seconds of extra silence, and then Danny says, _almost_ brightly, "What, did we think this was going to be a fun weekend group date or something? Of course there's someone tough in their organization. There are a lot of tough people in their organization. There are a lot of people, period, in their organization. It's just our good luck that we know who some of them are. If that's gonna fuck up one of our teammates, I'm not going to vote yes, but otherwise--isn't that the _gig?"_

"The gig isn't getting ourselves killed," Jess says thoughtfully. "Not on _purpose."_

"I don't care," Jessica says. "Either way. I don't think Viper's that big a deal. Maybe we can do some more recon or something before y’all decide."

"I agree," Jess says. "No solid plans until we have a little more data. We should see what’s in Bobbi’s files."

Carol shrugs. "Sounds good to me. If Jessica says it's okay, it is. We can handle a supervillain, people. She can't even be that tough."

“I can do recon with Jessica," Luke says.

"No." Carol glares at him. "I don't care how worried you are about anyone else who might happen to be doing it, you're not _useful_ on recon. We need to play to our strengths. You know Jessica, Danny, and T'Challa are best at that kind of thing."

Danny frowns at the wall, and then turns to Jessica. "So. Wanna team up?" he asks. "Unless you're doing villain stuff on the sly, I don't think we're gonna get in each other's way."

Jessica laughs. "Let’s do it," she says.

"You think they brought Viper in for something particular?" Danny asks.

"Doesn't matter. She's ambitious," Jessica says. "If she's got power, something big will be going on, whether the rest of the organization thinks it wants it or not."

"Then we do have to take them out," Luke says gruffly.

"Think we'll save the world?" Carol asks dryly.

"Every act of heroism keeps the world intact that much longer," says T'Challa. "I am confident that we will accomplish some good. And perhaps," he adds, "make the Avengers jealous."

"Next step," Danny says, "we become cool enough to not need to mention them in every meeting. A good reason, by the way, to not be called the New Avengers or the Secondary Avengers or the Avengers of the Hood, etcetera."

"Embarrassing," Carol says. Seriously, fuck the Avengers. "Okay, let's focus on what _we_ can do, instead of on them. Does anyone need anything from me? Jessica, you know them best. If you have an assignment for me, I can do that. I'm sick of spinning my wheels."

She hasn't spoken directly to Jessica in what feels like ages.

Jessica says, "Well, you know. HYDRA's kind of a braggy group. If you go around trying to pick a fight, you'll probably get one. Fight banter's probably not the worst way to figure out how much the kids on the fringe of the organization know about what's going on at the center."

"Perfect," Carol says, delighted. That's exactly what she needs to work out a little aggression. "I'll do that. Thanks." Jessica gives her an odd little smile, like she isn't sure she should be risking it.

“I could go with you,” Luke says.

“You should stay in, buddy,” Danny says, before Carol can answer. “Some of us should get some sleep.” He turns to Jessica. “So," he says. "Jessica. When do you want to go creeping around HYDRA central? Dinner date? Dog watch? I'm good with anything."

Jess glances at Luke but doesn't say anything. Jessica says, "Meet you here at ten, if that's okay." 

"Sounds great," Danny says, as Luke opens his mouth to protest. "Maybe this evening I'll make a little rope with handles on it so we don't lose each other while we're walking to the park."

"I knew you were kinky," Jessica says. "But I'm not sure we're there."

Jess sighs.

Luke makes surprised, angry noise.

"Simmer down, everyone!" Carol says loudly. She really, really doesn't want to know. And she doesn't want her team bickering again. "We all know what we're doing. I think this meeting is over."

"Very good," says T'Challa. "Please let me know if I can help. Otherwise I think tonight I am making Wakandan fruit stew. It is an intensive cooking process, but well worth the effort, especially since to fail at any step has terrible results."

"That better be a joke," Carol snaps, almost adding _soldier_ to the end. She really doesn't know how Tony does this job. "See you all tomorrow, ten sharp."

As everyone who's leaving gets up, T'Challa murmurs to Bobbi, "Why would I joke about Wakandan fruit stew? It is one of my favorite dishes."

"See you tonight," Jessica tells Danny, raising her eyebrows, and adds in an undertone, "if your babysitter's letting you out."

Danny just smiles and says, "See ya, Jessica. Dress in something sexy," and she grins on her way out the door.

Before everyone else is even gone, Luke retreats to the kitchen.

"Save me some stew," Bobbi tells T'Challa. "I'll bring Hawkeye some."

"A man who appreciates fine food," T'Challa says, and then the door shuts behind all of them, and it's just Danny and Jess, and Luke in the kitchen, and an ugly little silence.

“What the hell did I do?” Danny whispers.

“You were a little mean,” Jess says.

“Yeah,” Danny agrees, “because somebody was overstepping. What did I _do?”_

“You mattered,” Jess says. She purses her lips at Danny and says quietly, "Want to take a shower or a nap or something, hon? I can talk to Luke."

"Might be best," Danny agrees. "Oh, by the way, you're perfect."

Jess gives him a smile and a kiss on the cheek, and he retreats into the bathroom. Jess follows Luke's throat-clearing into the kitchen.

"Don't start," Luke says, but he knows _he's_ already gotten it started.

"He's not doing anything wrong," Jess says gently. "He's working. Just like you. Just like me. He didn’t even mess up on his recon today. It was a little close, but it’s _always_ going to be a little close. For us, too. Especially _you,"_ she adds with a smile.

"Sure, yeah, I know that," Luke says. He's used to being the reasonable one, but granted, not with Jess.

He leans back against the counter and says, "I guess I don't like someone else--" No, that sounds stupid. "Nothing’s been going right lately. I just want to make sure he's safe."

"Sweetie," Jess says, wrinkling her eyebrows. "You're talking about a man who got his powers by punching a dragon in the heart."

Speaking of things that sound stupid. "I know," Luke says. "Guess I just know how attached Danny gets to people, and it freaks me out a little to see him patrolling with someone else. I don't mean he'd cheat," he says quickly. "I just--don't know."

"Do you trust Jessica?" Jess asks. This is clearly _not_ where Luke’s worry started, but she thinks she had better pin it down while it’s revealing itself. "You can't think she'd be interested in Danny even if she liked men. Which she doesn't. But, I mean, do you trust her, as a teammate? Because if you don't trust this team, babe, we should quit. That's okay. It can be just the three of us. But we can't not trust our team."

"No, I--damn it!" Luke wants to hit the counter, but he doesn't want to pay for a new one. "Of course I trust her. I like her more than anyone else on the team. I just don't like the idea of Danny answering to someone else. I know that's weird."

Jess's eyebrows shoot up. "He's not our property," she says. "That's not how we do this."

"I know," Luke says, miserable now. He hates when she looks at him that way. "C'mon, hon, you know I don't think that way. Just got this worry that she’ll—get him into something bad and he won’t be able to get out."

“I know what you think," Jess says. "You think good thoughts because you're a good guy. But I think maybe you're subconsciously mixing up--Danny doesn't make himself vulnerable to us because he's vulnerable, sweetheart. He does it because he _picked us."_

Luke takes a deep breath and rubs a hand over his face. "Shit," he says. "I know. I know. You think I hurt his feelings?" He wishes he didn't _react_ to things. He's gotta have Jess teach him how to keep quiet more often.

"Probably," Jess says. "Maybe. I don't know. He gets frustrated when you treat him like being a sub makes him delicate, at least. I would think somebody who's been through as much as he has and works as hard as he does to get as little credit as he gets finds it tough to take it from his partner as well."

"I already feel bad enough," Luke mumbles. "Listen, I'm gonna go talk to him."

"He's in the shower," Jess says, quirking a smile.

"I'll wait outside," Luke says meekly. "Thanks, Jess."

Jess leans over and kisses his eyebrow. "No problem, buddy."

Luke smiles, and goes to sit outside the bathroom.


	17. luke cage learns important facts about apologies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We're not trying you on for size," Jess says gently. "We belong to you, too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: poly negotiations, explicit consensual sex ( cis m/m/f), relationship shit

Danny emerges from the bathroom warily, pink-cheeked and betowelled. His hair is sticking up. He doesn't look as happy as he usually does after a shower; he's had enough time to start worrying that he's walking back into something unpleasant, and that his whole evening is going to be tense and difficult in ways he doesn't want and can't necessarily afford.

Luke doesn't stand up immediately. He just glances up and says, "Danny, hey. Got a sec?"

"Should I be wearing pants for this?" Danny asks.

"Don't have to be," Luke says, getting up. "I just wanted to say sorry. For being an asshole at the meeting."

Danny smiles, although not very enthusiastically. "Thanks," he says. "Don't worry about it."

"I know you can handle yourself," Luke says. "I just get--possessive, I guess. Sorry, I know that's weird." He clears his throat.

"I don't mind possessive," Danny says. "I like possessive. Possessive makes it okay that I don't get to marry anybody. But I'd rather it didn't mean _Danny can't take care of himself._ Because, you know, you might be a tough guy from the 'hood, but one of my clearest childhood memories is of falling off an actual mountain. I am kind of used to taking care of myself."

Luke winces. "I know. And I forgot that. I messed up. I'm sorry."

"Cool," says Danny, who is deciding that maybe bringing up the marriage thing was a stupid idea, since it's backfiring already and now he feels awful. "I think I'm going to put some pants on, then."

"Yeah," Luke says uncomfortably, "good plan." This suddenly got way sadder than he meant it to.

Danny nods and disappears into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. When he doesn't come out after a couple minutes, Jess sticks her head into the hall from the kitchen and says to Luke, "Hon? What happened?"

"I made it worse," Luke says. "I apologized and he said he can take care of himself and he's not married to us." He shoots her _Help?_ eyes.  
"Shit," says Jess. "I don't think that's your fault. Here, get up. Time to follow."

Luke nods and goes to the bedroom door. He pushes it open a crack and says, "Danny?"

Danny hasn't actually gotten as far as pants. He's gotten as far as the bed, and he's sitting there in his towel, leaning on his knees and looking out the window.

"Getting dressed," he says, without turning around.

"Danny," Luke says, coming over to him and laying a hand on his shoulder, "You know you're our family, right?"

"I'm your secondary," Danny says, not bitterly or anything.

" _Sweetheart!"_ says Jess.

"You ain't secondary to _anything_ ," Luke snaps. He grabs Danny's chin in his hand. "You hear me, honey?"

Danny stares at him. "But I," he says. "I am. I'm the--I'm the extra part. You two were already perfect without me."

"I would never," Luke says, his voice going deep with distress, "I would _never_ be in a relationship with someone if that's how I felt about them. You think we don't need you? I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Oh," says Danny. "But..."

"Sweetheart," Jess says again, and climbs over the bed to get to him. She hugs him hard before he can pull away. "Danny. You happened _later_ , sweetie, that's all. It's not us and you. It's just us. _All_ of us."

"But I'm not," Danny starts, and tries on a completely useless grin without anything clever to follow it up with.

"You _are,"_ Luke says, and gets his arms around both of them in a big bear hug.

Jess frowns, her hand on Luke’s arm. She says, after a moment, "You know I'd marry you in a second, don’t you? If I were allowed to, the minute there's ever a law that says I'm allowed to, I'm going to. I'm _going_ to marry you. If I haven’t ever made that clear, I’m very sorry."

Danny goes still.

"We're not trying you on for size," Jess says gently. "We belong to you, too."

"This is our family," Luke says into Danny's hair. "This is what it looks like. It wouldn't be right any other way."

"Oh, god," Danny says. "You're both fine, I swear. I was just thinking too hard. You know, sometimes being--sometimes the word really matters, y'know? Being equal and counting to everybody else. Even if I think you would, if you could, I can't be...from a legal standpoint I'm not allowed in." He sighs, and tightens his hands in his towel.

While everyone else huddles around in quiet misery, Jess perks up. She says, "Hey, want to be the father of our babies?"

" _What?"_ says Danny.

Luke is tempted to echo him, but actually, it's a great idea. "Whoa," he says.

"When did we start with babies?" Danny says. "We're having babies? Can you make a baby and do hero stuff at the same time? You don't want me to make your babies, they'll come out funny-looking. Luke should father everything."

"Your babies will learn to talk early," Luke says evenly, recovering. "It's just a thought. We can talk about it."

"Well, _I_ want babies," Jess says. "I've wanted babies since I was about five. If neither of you will knock me up I'll just have to go somewhere else."

Luke laughs a little desperately. She is probably joking. "We'll work on it," he says. He gives Danny's shoulder a squeeze.

"Any time," Danny says, hazarding a smile. "We can practice."

"I can't wait," Luke says, giving them both another quick hug.

Danny nestles. "I still don't have pants," he says contemplatively. "Should I have pants? Should I have dinner?"

"I'd rather you didn't," says Jess.

"You like me with a lean and hungry look?" Danny asks.

"I like you naked," Jess corrects.

"I second that," Luke says. "This place could use a lot more nudity in it. In general." He checks Jess out, half thinking how hot she is, half relieved that everything's okay.

Danny leans back against Luke's shoulder. "That was a terrible come-on," he says.

"It was," Jess agrees. "Should he make up for it?" Danny tilts his head, questioning.

"Luke," Jess says with a smile. "You're going to take care of both of us."

"Yeah?" Luke says, his voice coming out hoarse. "Yeah."

Jess looks at Danny. "Want to give any orders?" she asks. "Or do you want me to handle it?"

"You for now," Danny says.

"All right," says Jess. "Luke. Stand up and take your clothes off. Everything."

Luke smiles and obeys. He doesn't get like Danny does when he's given orders, but he still knows how to follow them. When he's naked, arms crossed awkwardly, he looks to Jess and Danny.

Jess reaches out and runs a casual hand down Luke's body, and then stands up to take off her skirt and her stockings.

"Wait there," she tells Luke, and then climbs back onto the bed, pulling Danny down with her. She's got him on top of her in two seconds, her leg wrapped around her waist and her teeth on his lip. He pushes his leg between hers and kisses her hard, pushing her head down against a pillow.

Luke does his best to stand still, but he's bad at that. They look too damn good. He shifts his wait and stares as they move against each other.

Jess pulls away and pants, "Don't touch yourself, Luke." She grabs Danny's hair and pulls his head down to kiss her again. She reaches down with her other hand and yanks Danny's towel off of him. His cock is already getting hard against her hip.

Luke groans and links his hands behind himself. "You look good," he says awkwardly. They do. They always do.

Jess ignores him, and won't let Danny up to say anything, either. She rolls them onto their sides and gives Danny a sharp little tug towards her. Danny moans into her mouth. Eventually she pushes him down, and then looks up at Luke while Danny catches his breath under her weight.

"Wanna make out?" she asks.

Luke clears his throat and says, "Uh, _yeah_." He goes to her and leans over, his mouth finding her mouth, the rest of their bodies not touching.

But she pulls back before he can push too deep. "Nuh-uh," she says. "Danny first."

"Nnyeah," Luke says. "You bet." He bends over Danny and kisses him, biting at his bottom lip.

Danny slides his hands around the back of Luke's neck and links them, tugging him closer. He gets his knees up and lets Luke lie between his legs. He keeps his eyes shut while they kiss, but he bites a little more than usual.

"Good," Luke mutters into Danny's mouth. "You're good, honey." He slides his hand down Danny's side, raising goosebumps.

Jess lies down on her side and props her head on her hand, watching. Her hand drifts down her stomach. She says, "Danny, let me know when I can have him."

Danny nods, but he grabs Luke's hand and plants it against his chest, right over a wingtip.

"Touch me," he says.

Thought you'd never ask," Luke says. He runs his hand roughly down Danny's chest and over his stomach, pausing there to dig his nails it a little. He swipes his thumb over Danny's hipbone.

"Mm," says Jess. "Two naked men climbing all over each other any time I want. I remember swooning over this idea in high school." She shrugs. “Well. Not swooning, exactly.”

Danny laughs and grabs Luke's cock.

"Shit," Luke says. "Ah, God." Sometimes these two are a lot to keep up with. He doesn't think he'll ever get sick of it. He reaches up and grabs a fistful of Danny's hair, rocking into his hand.

"Easy, though," Danny murmurs. "Gotta give Jess her turn. You want him?" he asks her.

"Oh yes," Jess says.

Luke is _so fucking glad_ that she wants him.  
Danny pushes him over onto Jess, who tugs him down and wraps her legs around him.

"Touch me," she orders, directly into his ear. She wriggles so he knows he can take off her sweater, at least.

"Nn," Luke says. He slides a hand under her sweater, making sure not to get too grabby. He pushes it up over her breasts, pausing to quickly cup them before pulling the sweater over her head.

"Good boy," Jess murmurs, closing her eyes. "You can get your mouth on me, all right? You can take my bra off." Danny makes a noise of approval and rolls onto his side to watch them properly.

They don't do this too often, Danny watching without getting too tense or needy. This feels good. Luke reaches under Jess to undo her bra clasp, managing it without too much embarrassing fumbling. He's still not an expert.

"You look perfect, hon," he tells her, bending to kiss her breasts.

Jess arches up, half-laughing, running her hands down his sides.

"Do you mind?" Danny asks, and Jess looks over to check. Danny's hand is hovering over his cock.

"Don't," Jess says. "Luke, keep your mouth on me, but I want Danny's cock in your hand. Got it?"

Got it," Luke says gruffly. He reaches over and touches Danny, angling his head to take one of Jess's nipples gently between his teeth.

Jess yelps and Danny moans at the same moment, both of them squirming under him. Danny gets a grip on Luke's arm, angling his whole body closer. Jess grabs at Danny's leg with one hand and Luke's ass with the other.

"Fuck," Luke mutters against Jess's skin. He pulls back long enough to spit on his hand and then slid it back around Danny's cock. "Got you both."

Danny groans and sinks back against the mattress, Jess's hand running rough and awkward up his chest. He flounders to touch her for a minute and then gives up, limp against the mattress.

Luke lets down more of his weight on Jess, kissing her collarbone and neck, his hand still stroking Danny. Jess's skin is so hot against his.

"Yes ma'am," Luke says, a little shakily. He moves down and lets go of Danny long enough to get Jess's underwear off.

"Hmnn," Jess says. "Okay. Use your--god, you both look so good when your eyes get like that. Danny, come here." Danny turns to her obediently, and she catches him in a kiss. It's sweet, and then it's deep, and he's moaning in a few moments.

"Use your hands," Jess murmurs, and glances down at Luke. "Use your hands on us."

"God, yeah," Luke says. His hand is already back on Danny's cock. He steadies himself on his knees and presses one finger between Jess's legs.

Jess's hips jerk towards him and she moans into Danny's mouth, her fingers pressed hard against his jaw. Danny is clinging to Jess, his foot digging into Luke's hip.

Luke groans and works his finger inside Jess. "You feel so good, hon," he mutters. "Both of you, so fucking good." He takes his hand off Danny, presses his fingers against Jess to slick them, and wraps his hand back around Danny’s cock again.

Danny yelps, jerking away from Jess mid-kiss.

"Don't," she warns him breathlessly, and pulls him back in, her hand firm at the back of his head to keep him from escaping. Danny whimpers into her mouth and bucks against Luke's hand. Jess sighs and pushes herself down on Luke's fingers.

Luke slides his fingers in and out of Jess in time with the movement of his hand on Danny's cock. "Fucking beautiful," Luke says. "That's what you are."

They're both writhing on him now, barely keeping their mouths on each other through the noises they're making. Danny's hands are roaming over Jess's skin, squeezing her tits, nails scraping across her ribs. Jess reaches down with her free hand to thumb her clit, arching and whining as all of them touch her.

Luke mutters a string of obscenities under his breath, desperate for more contact. He can't imagine anything more perfect than the two of them. He twists his fingers a little inside Jess as he swipes his thumb over the head of Danny's cock.

Danny's easier than Jess a lot of the time, and he starts to go first. They can both hear it in the way his voice changes. Jess holds him harder, forcing her tongue between his teeth while he practically cries with need. He only needs a few more seconds to come, shuddering and boneless, pushing against Luke's hand.

"Jesus _Christ_ ," Luke gasps. Danny coming is one of the hottest things in the world, as far as he's concerned. He strokes Danny through his orgasm, fingers still inside Jess.

Danny moans and pulls himself up onto his knees, shaky but intent.

"What--do you need?" he asks Jess. She groans and takes his hand and puts it against her chest.

"Hold me down," she gasps. She puts herself flat on her back, her legs spread wide to take Luke's fingers.

Luke shifts to give Danny space, never taking his fingers out. He strokes his thumb around the edges of her entrances, focused and intent.

"What're we gonna do to Luke?" Danny murmurs, and pushes Jess down hard. Jess moans, arching under Danny's weight, fucking herself on Luke's fingers.

"Oh," she gasps. "We're gonna--"

"Gonna _what?"_ Danny demands. His cheeks are so _pink_.

"Gonna," Jess gasps, her fingers and Luke's all over and inside her, tits bare, Danny's hand against her chest, "gonna tie him down...and never let him...come!"

Everything hits just right, and she comes hard, biting her lips to muffle how loudly she's screaming. Their hands holding her in place just make her come harder.

Luke is practically sobbing with need. All he can say when Jess stills is, "Please, I--please."

Danny checks with Jess and then pounces, shoving Luke onto his back. He gives him one deep kiss of reassurance, and then slides down. He takes Luke's cock in his hand, and kisses and sucks him down to the tip.

Luke gasps, an embarrassingly loud sound in the now-quiet room. "Jesus, Danny, _please_ , come on."

Danny obeys. He gets Luke's cock in his mouth, wet and loose and deep, and looks up at Luke to show him he can take whatever Luke wants to give. Luke winds his hand loosely in Danny's hair and fucks his mouth, deep, but not too hard. He doesn't need that today. He just wants to feel Danny's mouth hot and wet around him. "Close," he says, more to the wall than to Danny. He's not good at talking in bed.

Danny hums and clings to Luke's hips, his tongue moving. Jess sits up and climbs over to them. She reaches down to touch herself.

"Open your mouth," she tells Luke, holding up damp fingers. Luke's mouth opens of its own accord in a tiny gasp. He's afraid for a second he's going to come too soon, but he catches his breath and tries to focus on Jess.

She slides her fingers into his mouth, tasting sweet, while Danny moans on Luke's cock.

"Shhh," says Jess. "You can come whenever you want. I just want you to taste me inside you."

Luke sucks Jess's fingers, his hips jerking. He's so fucking close, but he wants to stay here for a second, feeling both of them touching him. Then he lets a breath out and he's coming, jerking into Danny's mouth and biting down on Jess's fingers so he won't scream. He arches his back and claws at the sheets until his body stops shuddering.

Jess frees her hand and strokes his cheek. "There's my boy," she says. Danny pulls off and folds his arms across Luke's stomach, resting his head there.

"Jess," he says. "You are so manipulative."

That's why she's my hero," Luke mutters, suddenly overcome with a heavy, certain sense of relief. Things are okay now. He's got his family, and they've got him.

Danny nuzzles against his stomach.

"Sorry," he says quietly.

Luke strokes Danny's hair a few times. "It's okay," he says. "Me too."

"Oh, good," Danny says. "Because you were a dick about my curfew." Jess laughs.

"But I, uh," he says, "I usually know. That I count the same."

I know you know," Luke says. "It's okay, honey, I've got you."

"Oh god," Danny murmurs, snuggling in between both of them. "I have to get up and shower all over again. I have to brush my _teeth_ I can't go on that date with sexy lady Jessica Drew smelling like someone else's cum."

Luke laughs, shutting his eyes and letting the last bits of tension ease away. "Good boy. You get on that. I might join you."

Jess absentmindedly kisses the top of Danny's head, and then for awhile they don't get on with anything.


	18. danny and jessica have some snake trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Is heroism that bad?" she asks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: minor violence, transmisogyny, gendered language, coming out sort of

Jessica and Danny are on surveillance, camped out on an educated guess that came from sticking Bobbi's and Danny's and T'Challa's intel in with Jessica's instincts. The first half hour, Jessica thinks, hasn’t gone a long way in proving that this is a very good method. There are enough cameras parked around what looks like an ordinary brick alley wall that she's sure they're in _a_ right place. Whose it is and whether anybody's going to come out are different issues.

"Patience is a virtue," she mutters to herself.

Danny resists the urge to squirm. He can stay completely still for up to six hours (last he checked, anyway), but that doesn't mean he _likes_ it.

"We can chat," he suggests.

"Sure," Jessica says softly, without taking her eyes off their course of checking _everything_. "That's some nice soap you're using. Borrow it from your girlfriend?"

Danny still has one ear out for signs of _anything,_ but he can spare enough attention to crack a smile. 

"I didn't borrow it. We share everything," he says primly.

"You're very cute," Jessica says. There's a pause, and then she adds, "Really. It's nice you can work your asses off and put your lives on the line and have freak powers and still end up almost normal at the end of the day."

"Oh," Danny says. "Yeah, well--Thanks. I don't think it's impossible, you know? Not for anybody." It's a little awkward, as encouragement goes, but it'll do.

"Hm," Jessica says, but not from a bad temper. "You think?"

"Well," Danny concedes, "not for anybody on our team. I think we're actually okay, as people go." Maybe not Ms. Marvel. He doesn't know her that well yet, and she's mostly only been an asshole. Got a little too much flash and circumstance for his tastes even when she’s not.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Jessica says. She grins without looking up. "Feel free to help me find hot ladies. I mean, you don't need them for anything, right? You're fully booked."

"So booked," Danny agrees. He glances around, taking stock of their surroundings yet again to make sure he's not missing anything. Then he says, "So, ladies. Bobbi's straight, right?"

"Straight as a line," Jessica says.

"And you and Carol hate each other," Danny says. "I see the problem."

Jessica almost disagrees, but she doesn't, really. She can't imagine that she and Carol will ever not hate each other, at least a little bit. And if Danny doesn’t know the problem, she doesn’t want to explain it.

"Don't give up so easily," she says. "Broaden your search a little. Maybe there’s a leftover Avenger I can date to annoy Carol. Maybe I can date the Scarlet Witch." She frowns, leaning forward slightly to see into the dark.

"Maybe! Who else do you know, besides evil HYDRA ladies?" Danny asks. Not nice? He doesn’t mean not to be nice.

But Jessica doesn't take offense. "SHIELD agents," she says grimly.

Danny snorts. "You need to get out and meet some other people. Go, uh, clubbing and stuff. I hear people do that. Not me.” He just hooks up with his friends.

"Not me either. You have no idea," Jessica says. She can zap people and kick ass and climb walls, but clubs and bars still scare the shit out of her. Especially drunk. Unless she's there for business, she's fiercely uninterested in being there at all.

"Fair," Danny says. "I hate it too, and I’m not even a woman. Well, I know some people I could introduce you to, if you want."

"You're a doll," she says, and then shuts up, because someone walks into the alley below them. They're not in uniform, but they head straight into the alley and pull up at the wall right below Danny like they're pausing at an ATM. Jessica glances up at Danny, to ask, _Want to follow?_ A second later, the invisible door opens exactly like she expects it to.

Danny gives her a tiny nod and drops to the ground, completely silent. He's far enough back to avoid being seen in the shadows, especially if he tries hard. He slides along the wall and waits to see if Jessica will follow him.

As the figure steps through the doorway, Jessica climbs down the wall and catches the door against her back right before it can shut. She taps her fingers against the catch so the agent they're tailing will think it's shut properly.

Danny watches, impressed. He hasn’t gotten to see Jessica do her thing much, yet. He joins her at the door and raises his eyebrows, for _Think it’s smart to go in?_ He’s game, but he doesn’t want to walk into something they can’t handle. Jessica shrugs, shaking her head slightly. She turns and eases the door open to peer inside. Danny presses himself flat to the wall beside the door, barely breathing. 

"I'm good to go, if you want," he clarifies quietly.

She nods, and steps inside. There's a stairway directly ahead of them, one flight going up and one flight going down. There aren't any other doors on this floor, though, which is weird. Maybe there's a theatre downstairs that extends into the first floor. In that case, up is probably where they want to go. She turns back, and points up, questioning. Danny nods in answer. He’s perfectly willing to let her take the lead. He doesn’t have much experience with HYDRA, and god knows she does. He follows her up, a few paces behind, listening hard.

Jessica goes for the walls and leaves the stairs to Danny. It's not well-lit in here, and that's not great, because it means there's a temptation of taking cover for granted. But HYDRA agents are almost always equipped to see in the dark. She spots the first surveillance equipment and points it out to Danny, climbing around its radius. Luckily, Danny can be next to invisible when he wants to be. He finds the right light and the right way to move, and he's just a flicker as he slips past it. He lets out a breath. Okay, this is going to be a workout.

They make it up the stairs, slowly but steadily, and without running into anybody. Jessica notices right before she sets it off that there's a motion-activated light switch for the second-floor hallway, and she gestures to Danny before either of them can set it off. 

"Whoever that was didn't go this way," she whispers. "Or they would have set off the light, too. Must've gone down."

“Want to follow them down?” Danny asks. “You can probably get around up here, if you take the ceiling.”

“We can split,” Jessica says. "It's not like we wouldn't normally do this on our own. Plus, fewer chances to screw up at every turn. We can signal each other if we need an extraction, right? You take below, I stay up here."

Danny hesitates. It's obviously a really shitty, dangerous idea, but it kind of makes sense. Pretty much. "Okay," he whispers unhappily. "Can we meet outside in a half hour?"

Jessica nods, and climbs off across the ceiling before Danny can change his mind.

Danny watches her for a minute before turning to head back downstairs. He doesn't know what he's gonna say to Jess and Luke if he gets Jessica killed.

He makes his way into the lower level without setting anything off (although he nearly does, once, because he's letting himself be distracted by foreboding). He comes out onto a landing with glass double doors that lead into a lit, two-story lab, with a balcony, lined with rooms, running like an elevated track at about the level of the alley he and Jessica came in through. He doesn't immediately sense anyone, or see them, either, but he spots enough security equipment that he decides to look for another way in. The ceiling looks like a good bet.

No sooner has Danny gotten himself on the ceiling than two people in green and gold uniforms walk past, heading for the glass doors. It's a man and a woman, and they're walking fast, military-style, not talking much. The woman unlocks the doors and they go in.

"Damn," Danny mutters when the doors shut. On the one hand, there's someone to overhear; on the other hand, he might have hoped for some uninterrupted paper-rifling. He shifts a ceiling panel, a little noisily, and hoists himself up. The panel goes back without a sound, and he creeps through the ceiling, competing for space among bundles of wires and pipes and ventilation tubing until he finds a vent against the wall facing into the theatre. He cuts the foil tubing against the seam, only halfway around. The tubing is nearly two feet in diameter; Danny can squeeze his upper half inside and get a look at the grate without cutting it away completely. Which is better--it's less obvious.

He doesn't immediately fiddle with the grate, however, because his friends from the hall are on the other side.

"I don't care what you like," the man is saying. "She's our boss."

"As of when?" the woman asks, her tone clipped. "As far as I'm concerned, she can leave as quickly as she came."

The man is briefly silent. Then he says, "We should have a look at B-team’s math."

Danny frowns and tries not to shift his weight, even though his back is already cramping from being stuck in an awful sideways position. He can ignore that, though, and does, relaxing until he can focus on the invisible HYDRA agents. He nudges at them a little, suggesting that maybe they have some more grievances to air.

There's a brief silence. Then the woman says, "I don't think it'll even work."

"What?"

She sighs sharply. "Whatever it is that she's—well, not any of it, obviously. Not the…structures. But certainly not the rest of it. Have you heard some of what they're saying? If it's anything close to most of the rumors, it's not going to work."

It's obviously Viper they're talking about, but Danny can't imagine what it is the woman doesn't believe--HYDRA agents, in his experience, don't believe only in limitations.

"Not really the point," the man says nervously. "Besides, _look_. This is showing promise."

There's a brief silence again, then a disgusted sigh. "I don't think she's all there."

 _Come on,_ Danny encourages them. _Little bit more. What's she trying to do?_

"I feel bad for her, honestly," the man says.

The woman snorts. "Feel bad for us. If it works _too_ well, I'm leaving."

There’s a long pause, and Danny listens for more, even though he's getting anxious about leaving half his body outside a pipe. And, as quick as he's been moving, he doesn't have that much time before he's supposed to meet Jessica.

"If you leave, she'll kill you," the man says. "You know too much." It sounds like he's joking, but the joke falls flat.

Neither of them says very much after that.

Danny can't wait for them to make enough noise to cover him; he extricates himself as quietly as he can, repositions the cut tubing so it won't be noticed for awhile, anyway, and makes his way back to the tile he climbed in through. There's no one waiting underneath, luckily, and he manages to make his way upstairs and outside without a problem. 

Jessica isn't there yet.

~

Jessica avoids the hallway with the light sensor and makes her way to the room beyond it. She presses herself against the door, listening. Nothing. She wonders how far back this place goes. Everything feels both huge and claustrophobic. She pushes the door open just a crack, enough to see inside.

Light spills out, and Jessica can see someone pacing inside. She doesn't even have to see much to recognize the figure; she lied to the team when she said she hadn't known Viper very well.

She swallows several curses and makes sure she's keeping herself out of the light. It's been a good few days. She's not going to charge in and get herself hurt. Probably. She's going to wait here and see if something happens, and then she's going to go meet Danny like she's supposed to.

Nothing happens for a number of minutes. Viper paces, sometimes turning so Jessica can see her face. It doesn't have the scar on it that was there last time Jessica saw her.

It makes Jessica feel vaguely, unidentifiably angry. It's not that she wants Viper never to have changed (some changes would be welcome), but now Jessica feels disconnected from her past in a way she wasn't expecting. She doesn't miss HYDRA, but she kind of wishes they'd stopped existing when she left. She shifts, her leg cramping. She should go.

She's startled when Viper turns, and then strides abruptly to the door. Viper pushes it open, hard.

"I knew I didn't leave that door ajar," Viper says. "What I don't know is why some bitch in a catsuit is in my building, trying to get it open."

Jessica presses a hand to her nose, trying to think fast. This could get very bad very quickly, and she doesn't know if it'll be worse if Viper knows who she is or doesn't.

"You should screen your underlings more carefully," she says.

"In case they turn out to be what?" Viper asks, misleadingly slouched in the doorway. As Jessica opens her mouth to answer, Viper swings out a leg to kick her hard in the side of the head.

Again, Jessica is half a second too late, and while she doesn't get the full force of Viper's kick, she takes most of it. Then she's moving fast again, kicking off the wall to launch herself onto the ceiling. She cannot afford to get into a fight right now.

"Spiders, I guess," she says from the ceiling.

Viper swipes a ray gun from her belt and fires it at Jessica's leg.

Jessica grunts and drops from the ceiling in time to avoid being more than grazed. Story of tonight, she guesses, rolling to her feet with her leg smarting. She whips a right hook at Viper's jaw.

Viper blocks, and punches Jessica hard in the stomach. When Jessica doubles forward, Viper snatches at her mask.

"Fuck," Jessica wheezes, making a feeble attempt to stop her. She coughs and takes a few steps back, deciding that covering her face would only look weak. Maybe Viper won't recognize her.

But with Jessica's mask dangling from her fingers, Viper frowns. Before Jessica has straightened upright, Viper's frown has lifted up into a look of dawning realization.

"Oh, this is too good," she says. "I don't know which I find more unbelievable, that you really turned hero or that you really went out and bought yourself a pair of tits. I’m almost proud. What do you even go by now? Something cute. _Veronica?_ Ashley? Angel?"

Jessica expected it to hurt. But no. She's just furious, blindingly, white-hot, sickeningly angry. "Spider-Woman," she says flatly.

"As you like," Viper says. She tosses Jessica her mask. "Is there any reason in particular you're skulking around my place of business in the middle of the night, Spider-Woman?"

"If I tell you we're going to take off every single one of HYDRA's heads, you'll laugh," Jessica says. Her heart won't stop racing.

"So this is a team visit," Viper says. "Not a personal one. Good to know." She taps the back of her wrist absentmindedly. "If you think I am ever in a laughing mood, I think you're not remembering me clearly. But you were practically a baby when we worked together, so I can probably forgive you that."

Jessica tamps down on every single unimportant question she wants to ask. Instead, she says, "You're doing well for yourself. How did that happen?"

"So every man in the business wants to know," Viper says without a hint of mockery. "You know how it is, Spider-Woman, don't you? Any woman who makes it to the top must be a fake." 

Jessica grits her teeth. Oh, she knows. She knows, Viper knows, Carol knows, and it’s probably made all of them worse for it. 

"I guess you're just making me nostalgic," she says. Better to leave her options open, in case infiltration becomes relevant. Besides, she's already late to meet Danny, and she needs an out.

Viper laughs, shortly and bitterly. "Nostalgic for what? Former glory? You never came close to the top with HYDRA," she says. "And I doubt that was because of misogyny."

The thing Jessica hates most about being so angry all the time is that she can't hide it. "We don’t all want to be top bitch," she says. "I just wanted to see what you were doing here. To see what I was missing. Sorry about the threats."

Viper considers, although she considers with her finger on the trigger. 

"Is heroism that bad?" she asks. "Maybe it's just bad company. I suppose you'll sneak on in to SHIELD headquarters next."

Jessica grimaces, but it's a good sign that Viper hasn't killed her yet. Her nose still hurts like hell. "Come on, that just wouldn't feel like family."

"Oh, please," Viper says. "You're pushing it, sweetie. Where's your partner?"

 _Shit_. "Probably starting to worry about me," Jessica says, and she kicks off the wall to slam a flying kick into the side of Viper's head.

Viper ducks, and slams the heel of her hand into Jessica's back, right behind her kidneys.

"Of course," she retorts. "If they weren't worried already, they might have let you come here alone. But you're not exactly trustworthy."

Jessica isn't about to waste any more breath on banter. She's fucking up, and she needs to stop. She focuses just long enough to build up a venom blast and aims it at Viper's face. Maybe she can give her back that scar.

It hits Viper full on and she drops to her knees with a scream. It turns to cursing even as she clutches her face and starts to struggle to her feet.

Jessica turns and flees, setting off the hallway light and probably getting caught on a lot of the security footage. It doesn't matter, though. She's already given Viper a lot more ammo than that. She doesn't stop running until she's in the alley.

Danny is hiding out overhead. "Hey, partner!" he whispers.

Jessica, her nose bloody, looks up. "Hey," she whispers back half-heartedly before starting to climb the wall.

Danny gives her a once-over, from her expression and her bloody nose to her bleeding leg and hunched-over posture.

"Later," he says, and for now, he just focuses on getting out fast, with both of them as intact as they're going to be.


	19. danny and jessica beat a retreat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not everyone here is made of sharp edges.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: none?

When they're out of range, out of public sight, and probably not being followed, Danny says, "Okay. Stop a minute. Before we go home and compare notes, how badly did that go?"

Jessica tries to slow her breathing down and fails. Her nose is throbbing, and her leg and her back both hurt, and she can tell she's about thirty seconds away from crying. "Badly," she says. She sounds choked.

"Whoa, hey," Danny says, sticking a hand out to catch her or pat her shoulder or something. "Okay, simpler question: do you have any serious injuries? Any internal hemorrhaging? Do we need to rush you to the hospital?"

"My nose isn't even broken," she says disgustedly, crying now. "I saw Viper."

"Damn," says Danny. He's not quite sure how bad that is, for them or for Jessica, but looking at Jessica’s face he's getting the gist. She hid it well in the meeting, unfortunately. "You need to get it together before we check in? Sorry, not 'you need to,' skipped a word, _do_ you need to?"

Jessica nods fervently. She is _not_ checking in like this. All things considered, though, she's really glad to be here with Danny and not one of the others. Well, T'Challa might be better.

"She knows me way too well," she says. "Knew me way too well. I didn’t know it would suck that bad."

"Nose is the lesser casualty?" he asks.

"Yeah," Jessica says. It's not even that Viper was that big of an asshole, she tells herself. But yeah. She's upset. Even worse, if she says too much, Danny might ask _why._

Danny doesn't ask, though. He just nods, and then says, "Want some ice cream?"

Jessica wasn't expecting that. "Oh," she says. "Yes? Yes. Uh, please."

"Yeah, I know," Danny says. "It's March, it's midnight, we're dressed like crazy people. I think I saw a corner store down the block. What flavor?"

"Rum raisin," Jessica says. "If they don't have that, just vanilla or whatever."

"Or whatever," Danny agrees. He grins at her and vanishes off down the street.

Jessica spends the whole time he's gone remembering how to stop crying. She's fucking overreacting, and it's awful, but she doesn't even have anyone to tell about this. Not the parts that are actually making her cry.

When Danny comes back, he says, "Okay, no rum raisin, but for some reason they had this caramel-coffee liqueur-walnut thing. That okay? I can go back."

"I _just_ stopped crying," Jessica says. She clears her throat to get her voice to stop sounding _wrong_. "You're too nice to handle. Seriously, thanks."

"That's okay," Danny says. "Oh, but--I don't know what to do about a spoon. I forgot to look."

“I was just going to use my face,” Jessica says, grimacing. “Except for my face being covered in blood.”

Danny laughs and hands her a paper towel. "Remembered that. Go for it," he says. "I'll keep an eye out."

Jessica cleans up, and eats the ice cream in messy silence for a while. Then she says, "What do you do when you run into people you used to know? From, I don't know, high school or whatever. What do you do when they remember you as a scrawny little nerd or whatever you were, and no matter what you do or say, that's still who they see? And they're also supervillains?"

Danny doesn't answer for a minute. Then he says, "My parents died when I was nine. I kind of went straight from normal boring rich kid to martial arts vengeance freak without really an intermediate step? I guess if someone told me 'you used to be less chill,' I'd say, well _no fuck._ But probably if they were someone I didn't like I'd also punch them in the face."

 

Jessica laughs. "Well, I did. More of a venom blast than a punch. I guess it made me feel a little better. Kind of."

"So," Danny says, "does this make you less excited or more excited about taking them down?"

Jessica licks the edge of the ice cream carton and thinks about it. "More," she says. "Way more."

"Cool," says Danny. He isn't about to ask Jessica if she's _sure_ it's okay, and will it be too _hard_ for her, like pretty much everyone else on the team. He _has_ been a nine-year-old orphan with a murderous vendetta. He worked out. And Jessica’s tough. If she thinks she can take on her past, he’s not going to question it like she’s a china doll.

Jessica gives an exhausted, surprised laugh. "Cool," she echoes. "I like you, Danny. No offense to your sweethearts, but you're my favorite."

Danny grins. "None taken. I'm never anybody's favorite. This is kind of a nice change of pace."

"I don't feel like you're about to whip around and give me therapy," Jessica says. "I appreciate that. And you don't take yourself too seriously." That covers pretty much everyone on the team. And she doesn't feel like he knows all her business the way Luke seems to.

"Thanks," Danny says. "I mean--yeah. Thanks. It's nice of you to say."

Jessica shrugs. "The best people don't get any credit. That's what always happens. But at least you know you've got Luke and Jess on your side."

"And Luke's so normal it hurts," Jessica says, sounding more annoyed than she means to. "I mean, I guess I don't have any idea what it's like to live like he has, but he seems to have come out okay."

"More than," Danny says. He can feel his face going all goofy. "But yeah. They're both normal. Amazing, and normal. They make me a lot less monastic, you know? There's more to life than discipline and focus. They make me lose focus. It's a good thing." He blinks. "Sorry, that was more than you wanted, I bet."

Jessica isn't sure whether to feel jealous or comforted, but right now, she's just happy. "Nah," she says. "This is the first time in weeks I'm glad I joined this team." Not everyone here is made of sharp edges. It's nice.

"I like you, too," Danny says. "How do you feel about getting out of this crummy alley and checking out my place, hm? We could have a couple drinks, maybe some Advil...? We should definitely do something about your leg."

"Deal," Jessica says. She kind of wants to be alone, but she also knows it would be a pretty stupid idea. She wants to stay not-upset. "But no kissing on the first date," she adds weakly.

"Only the cool kiss of an ice pack," Danny promises. "Come on. Maybe you can put your ice cream on your nose on the way."

Jessica thinks she'll probably look like a freak, but she does it anyway.

~

"Luke," Jess says, "you don't have psychic powers."

Luke blinks and unwrinkles his forehead. "What? I was just--I don't know what you're talking about." At least he's not camped out in the kitchen this time.

Jess sits up in bed so that she's at the same angle as Luke. "Sweetheart, he'll be home when he's home. They'll look after each other." She strokes his face. "Anyway, if he comes home and sees you sitting around frowning over his fate, he'll kick your ass."

Luke sighs. "Yeah, I know. But let's face it, Jess, this isn't some small-time thing they're up against. It's HYDRA." And Jessica is bad about not taking risks. “I know it’s okay, but I don’t _like_ Danny putting himself in harm’s way like this.”

"If there’s a big problem, they'll call," Jess says, and then there’s the grumble of the key in the lock. The door slams open, and Danny says, "Two home! No one's dying!"

Luke's gotta hand it to him, it's an effective introduction. He's still out of bed and down the hall before he can think, though.

"Danny, hey," he says tightly, slowing to a walk when he sees them. Jessica's face is bruised, but other than that, they both look okay. They both look okay. Luke tries to let that calm him down.

"Things have gone worse," Danny says. "We got any ice?"

Jess wanders out behind Luke. "Yes," she says. "Plenty. Anyone need a drink? Water? Milk? God forbid coffee."

"Coffee," Jessica says immediately. She doesn't really want to sleep tonight. "Look, I'm sorry for barging in here in the middle of the night."

"I think you were dragged," Jess says, raising her eyebrows at Danny. 

"We should debrief," Danny says. "Real quick, and then you can take off if you want, Jessica."

She nods. "Thanks. I didn't even ask what you saw."

"Sit," says Jess. "Luke, would you mind making some coffee? Or, if there's some in the fridge from this morning...?"

"Think I drank it all," Luke says distractedly. "I'll make more." He gives Danny a rough squeeze on the upper arm as he goes past.

Jessica finds herself put in a chair, setting down her almost-empty ice cream container on the table. Jess and Luke don’t seem to notice the blood on her leg, but there’s an ice pack in her hand suddenly, and a bottle of ibuprofen in front of her.

“Oh,” she says. “Uh, thank you.”

“Not a problem,” says Jess. “So what happened?”

"We found a base," she says. "Bigger than I expected. We split up, which was my great idea, before you ask. I didn't get far, though, because I ran into Viper."

“She ran into you, too?" Jess guesses. "Are you all right?"

Jessica nods carefully. "Yeah. Just a few cuts and bruises. I shouldn't have blown my cover, though. She knows we're gunning for her now."

"Who's we?" Luke asks, emerging from the kitchen.

"A team," Jessica says. "That's it. Sorry, I get really stupid around some people."

"Did she know I was with you?" Danny asks. "I mean, specifically?"

"No," Jessica says. "She knew I wasn't alone, though."

"That could be much worse, then," Jess says. 

"How much worse?" Danny says. "It's not that hard to figure out Spider-Woman's new best friends."

Luke turns away from the coffeemaker and crosses his arms. "I guess we push up our schedule a little. We knew this was going to come back around to us pretty soon."

"I don't know whether this is better for us or worse," Danny says, "but Viper's people don't trust her. Whatever she’s trying to build, they don’t want to be building it.”

“Doesn’t mean they won’t follow her long enough to hurt us,” Luke says. 

Danny says, “HYDRA is good at survival. You know, cockroach style. But beyond the necessary spots of evolution, their technology doesn't have a great history of working out. So whatever the big plan is, I don’t think we have to be overly concerned.”

“Yes,” Jess says, “we just have to worry that with her leadership looking shaky, Viper will decide to satiate her people’s bloodlust by setting them on a no-name New York superhero team.”

"I'm sorry," Jessica says again. "This is my fault. I didn't mean for her to see me."

"It was a risk," Jess says. "It's always a risk. Honey, is the coffee ready?"

"Yeah," Luke says, springing up frowning to bring the pot from the kitchen. 

“Did you get _shot?”_ Jess asks Jessica, looking at her leg.

“No!” Jessica says. “I mean, I’m fine. It’s literally just a scratch.”

“Hm,” says Jess. “All right.”

Talking to Jess always makes Jessica feel awful, like her life isn't together enough and she's not together enough. "What should we do now?" she asks. "Tell Carol and the others, obviously, but what then?"

Luke comes back and pours Jessica a mug of coffee. He leaves the pot on the table for anyone else looking to lose sleep.

"Kind of a big question for one in the morning," Danny says. "More heads, more ideas. Anyway, we lie low for a few days and pretend we don't know anything about your visit tonight, Viper might pass it off as a personal thing and not a team thing at all."

"And it's their infrastructure we really care about, anyway," Jess says. "Their leaders switch off, but they're mostly normal humans. Take their tech offline and you've got a pretty good edge."

"Betcha the Scarlet Witch could turn it all off," Danny says. "Too bad, huh?"

"Yeah, bet she could do a lot of things," Jessica says. 

"Jessica?" Luke says gently.

"Nothing. You're right, we should bring it up at the meeting tomorrow. Brainstorm more."

"Relax first," says Danny. "Can't act on a full head, right?"

"Yeah," Jessica says. "Listen, thanks. All of you." She takes a gulp of coffee. "I should get home."

"Any time," Jess says. "You can take the coffee with you, if you want. I mean, we have travel cups, too."

"Sure," Jessica says, getting to her feet awkwardly. She aches everywhere. "I'll let you all get some sleep."

"Call, if you need anything," Luke says. He looks worried. She hates that. He probably thinks she almost got his boyfriend killed and is too nice to say.

"Come on," Danny says. "I'll get you a mug."

Jessica follows him, glad to be away from Luke's worry and Jess's effortlessness.

"Thanks," she says. "Sometimes I don't know why the hell you all let me on the team." Ex-HYDRA fuck-ups are exactly what they need, clearly.

"Cause you're hot," Danny says, but that's too close to true, so he adds, "You know we're not the popular kids, and _they_ aren't angels. I'm not generally that keen on teams, myself, but it's worth trying to use it now we've got it." He takes a plastic mug out of the cupboard and pulls the lid off. "That was my stealth advice, by the way. Sometimes you've gotta go off on your own. I get that. But don't."

"Oh," Jessica says. She takes the mug from him. "Thanks. Gotta go, gonna cry." All this crying is shitty. The past few weeks haven't been her favorites.

"Understood," says Danny. "See ya later."

"See you."

Then Jessica remembers she'll have to go back through the living room to get out the normal way.

"Sorry about this," she says, and she opens the window and climbs out it, mug in hand, before Danny can tell her not to.

Danny waves after her. He doesn’t mind, really. He started sneaking in and out of windows a long time before his parents died. He leans against the table for a couple minutes, catching his breath and giving Jessica some time to get away.


	20. clint and some duck pajamas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bobbi may die from being this close to someone this desperate and cute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: gendered language, awkward flirts

Bobbi doesn't expect to find herself back at the Avengers' front door again so soon, but after the evening meeting, she feels even more nervous about this whole plan than she did before. She doesn’t think they have enough intel, and as much as she doesn’t want to go against Carol’s word by talking to SHIELD directly, she doesn’t want to waste vital opportunities to be _prepared,_ either. She spends all night worrying about it, and in the morning she goes to ask someone for advice, instead. 

Bobbi gets into the building without incident and heads straight for Clint's apartment, saying a silent prayer that Natasha won’t be around this time.

There’s nothing to worry about. Clint is alone, blissfully not doing anything important at all. He is reading a magazine about _cars_. Today has been nice, because Pietro took his crazy sister out somewhere, which is as far as JARVIS has told anyone, and since everyone else in the house is miraculously doing okay (Bruce has that Magneto thing, but Bruce was in _his own_ house today), Clint can actually breathe.

"Just a sec!" he yells over JARVIS when the buzzer goes off. He flings down his magazine and goes to the door and, holy shit, Bobbi Morse is on the other side.

"Uh," says Clint, "hello?"

"Hi, it's me," Bobbi says. "Mockingbird. Any chance I can come in and chat?"

Clint wishes to tell Bobbi that he absolutely knows that she is Mockingbird, he absolutely knows who Mockingbird is. He says, “Is this business hours? Am I getting up too slow? I’m kind of in my pajamas. I can change real quick if this is a—business thing?”

"No," Bobbi says quickly, feeling stupid. "No, nothing like that, I just needed some quick advice. You know, from another former SHIELD agent."

"Oh," Clint says. He tries not to look as devastated as he feels. This is exactly like high school, this is exactly why he's avoided crushes like the plague since high school. "Um, sure. Come in. Mockingbird."

Bobbi comes in. "Thanks! Hi!" she says, too brightly. No Natasha, and no Clint's uniform. This is better. "You look good. Relaxed, I mean."

"Yeah!" Clint says. "Yeah, I was just...sitting here."

Oh, good. Great pause. Now she's going to think he was jerking off.

"Cool!" Bobbi says. She wondered when she jumped from jokey flirting to actually being embarrassed to talk to him. She thinks it's the lack of Natasha. Damn it.

"Okay, look," she says, "the thing is, my team’s about to do something dangerous, and I—I scooped a bunch of relevant files from SHIELD’s database, but they’re not as useful as they could be? And I think I could get more out of Nick than they’ve got on paper. But my team will be pretty ticked off if they catch on that I’m talking to SHIELD directly. But it'll take out some really bad people if it works, and I’m worried about my teammates getting hurt just trying to dig up intel. Do you think it's worth the risk for me to talk to Nick?"

"Of course," Clint says. “Just don’t tell him more than you have to.”

"Well," Bobbi says, after a pause, "that was easy. In that case, can I have a seat and we can talk about something else? Anything else."

"Um yes," Clint says. He gestures to the kitchen table. It would be nice if he had a couch. Or arm chairs. He's never wanted a couch and arm chairs before. He's surprised no one on the team has mentioned how egregious and sick it is for him not to have a couch or arm chairs when they've come over for dinner. God, they’re probably being nice. They’re so damn nice.

Bobbi nods and takes a seat. Clint is so cute when he's nervous. She makes a note to defend him to her team more often.

"So, how insane and horrible are the Avengers?" she asks. "Because our nameless team is pretty insane and horrible."

"Hey now," Clint says. "The house might hear you."

"I'll take that as a _very_ ," Bobbi says, wrinkling her nose. "Everyone knows Stark's nuts."

"Haha," Clint says, and then decides he's more interested in his team than some girl, at this exact moment, anyway. "I mean, hey! Tony's fine, and my team isn't horrible. I'm sorry about yours, but we're fucking golden over here."

"So I hear," Bobbi says. "Carol's really jealous. She thinks we're a disaster. I'll bet Stark's the same way, though, especially with Fury breathing down his neck." Carol and Tony wouldn't be friends otherwise.

"Naw," Clint says. He's pretty sure the only person Tony has low self-esteem about is _himself._ "We got a proud daddy. I'm not saying there's not drama, we're like, shoo-ins at the Oscars of crime-fighting, but we get along, y'know? I guess with SHIELD having a team and having a family were two different things, but, uh." He stops, embarrassed. Bobbi is going to hate him, and he's going to sound like a sentimental idiot. Which he is. But he tries not to _say so._

But Bobbi is beaming. "That's what you always wanted," she says. "I think Natasha hated us both for...well, wanting to _nest_." She really wishes her team were anything approaching a family. Luke, Jess, and Danny have managed it, at least.

"Hah!" says Clint loudly. "She's one to talk! She! Uh!" He warbles off into some shameful chuckling and tries to think of what he can say he meant that isn't _domestically fucking the Wasp._

"She _what?_ " Bobbi demands.

"Is really a fuzzy kitten under all the killing and double-crossing," Clint says. "She's so fond of us all, you know. And she does _live_ here, unlike some people."

"You still wanna nest, though?" Clint says. Which hopefully doesn't sound like a come-on, or a _bad_ come-on, because it kind of is one but it shouldn't sound like it.

Bobbi may die from being this close to someone this desperate and cute. Clint's always a problem for that reason. "I wanna nest," she says.

Clint laughs, not in a knowing and manly way, and he can feel himself go red up to the ears. "Maybe your team just needs to settle down a little," he says. "We've definitely gotten better with age. You know, with the cuddling and the awesome loyalty and with less of the hating each other."

"I can't picture Carol cuddling T'Challa," Bobbi says gloomily. "And they get along _well_." There is cuddling, of course, but Bobbi is in the process of deciding to hate the Cage-Jones-Rand family.

"Okay," Clint says. "Fair. Because that would be weird. But hey! If you want some cuddling, I'm sure someone here would be happy to help anytime. We're so good at that kind of thing."

He is wearing his fucking Donald Duck pajamas, he is talking to Bobbi Morse with overt cuddle flirting and wearing fucking _Donald Duck pajamas._

"Clint," Bobbi says very seriously, "do you want to cuddle me?" She's being mean, she tells herself. But it's been a long week.

"I, uh, anything you need," Clint says, which sounds like he's taking orders for what to shoot next, but it's better than throwing himself to the ground and wailing. “I, Donald Duck and I are ready, and—”

"Shut up and get hugged," Bobbi says, almost flinging herself at him. She's not _that_ mean.

"Ack!" says Clint, and it takes him a second to hug back. Not more than that, though, because he's hugged Bobbi before, and she was _so perfect_ and she is still _so perfect_ , and for the first time in days, he remembers what she was like to have around all the time. Nice, but not _too_ nice. Easy to share a space with. Really good to hug.

"So I might have overstated," Clint says to her hair. "I haven't actually hugged somebody in kind of a while. Just explaining in case this hug isn’t, uh. Optimal."

"The Avengers are sleeping on the job, then," Bobbi says fiercely. Who the hell wouldn't hug good, loyal, funny Clint? Bad people.

"I think the problem is more that they're all sleeping on each other," Clint grumbles.  
Bobbi winces and then hugs instead. "I hoped that was an ugly rumor. Well, they don't know what they're missing. I'll bet you're the best hugger of the bunch." She decides not to tell her team about any of this visit.

Clint scoots over slightly so that they're not quite hugging any more, but his arm is comfortably over her shoulders.

"Well, Jan hugs," he amends. "So does Thor, but I like Jan's hugs better."

"I don't think I'd like to hug a god," Bobbi says. "No offense to him, but _ugh_." Clint's arm is very warm.

"Too late!" Clint says. "I'm the god of arrows." He is the biggest dork in the world, soon Bobbi will pull away. She should! _She should._

Bobbi laughs, half because it's a cute, stupid joke and half because she actually thinks it's funny. "I missed you," she says.

"Me too you," Clint says. "I mean, I forgot how good it is to have you around." Not what he means to say. "But it, um. It came back pretty quickly."

"We should hang out," Bobbi says seriously. "I mean it. Not just to bicker about our teams, either. Do you want to, I don't know, grab food?" She really didn't come here meaning to ask him out. If that's what she's doing.

"I'd love to grab food," Clint says. "Or takeout or whatever. I have the best shitty movie collection in the whole tower, if you're into, y'know, shitty movies."

"I definitely am," she says. She's never watched a movie with him, but he seems like the best possible person for that kind of thing. "How about tomorrow night?" If she's not gathering HYDRA intel.

"Yes, tomorrow night is perfect," Clint says. "I'll pick something good. Or bad. Or, you know, offer a selection. I also have a lot of takeout menus."

Clint clearly needs to get out more, but Bobbi can't stop grinning. "See you then," she says, getting up. "I'm glad I came."

"Yeah," Clint says. "We don't actually get a lot of visitors who aren't villains, so. Yeah." He grins. "Uh--see you tomorrow?"

Bobbi nods, considers kissing him on the forehead, decides it would be too condescending and forward. She leaves with a wave.

Clint waves back, shuts the door, and looks down at himself.

"Son of a bitch," he says. " _Duck pajamas."_


	21. wanda maximoff is a bee in loki's bonnet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She sounds slightly fond and mostly annoyed, and Wanda can't place what it's directed at.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: one gendered language

Pietro wakes up earlier than Wanda. He makes breakfast in his kitchen and fidgets and then finally pokes her in the arm until she grumbles at him.

"There's a _time difference,"_ Pietro says. "It's already lunch time. You have to open your fucking eyes, Wanda."

Wanda does, but only a little. "Huh? Oh, sorry." She pulls herself upright, suddenly nervous as she remembers what she promised to do today. "Oh no," she says.

"Huh?" Pietro says. "Hey, you all right?"

"Yeah." Wanda shakes her head and tries to wake up. Weird dreams. Creed was in one of them, which always makes her feel uncomfortable. "I'm ready. Well, give me ten minutes."

"Ten minutes and breakfast," Pietro says. "In the kitchen. I'm gonna call and make sure we're on."

"Sounds good," Wanda says. She's glad about breakfast. It'll give her time to straighten her head out and wake up more.

"Cool," says Pietro, beaming. He wanders out of the room, and Wanda can see he's got a phone in his hand already.

"Fast," she mutters. She doesn't feel fast. She gets dressed and then makes her way to breakfast, which Pietro has already set out. Wanda is still feeling half trapped in her dreams. Maybe a trip out of the country will help.

"Yeah," Pietro is saying. "I'll call back. _Yeah."_ And then something fast that probably whoever is on the other end doesn't understand either. Wanda smiles into her food. She hopes he never stops doing that. She can usually hear him when no one else can, or at least she can guess what he means.

Pietro sticks his head in and smiles. "Good eggs?" he asks. "I told Loki I'd call them back when we need a ride."

Wanda nods. It's always odd to be reminded that other people have powers like hers, or even powers at all. "The eggs are perfect. Is it true that Loki's a god?"

Pietro shrugs. "I mean...Loki is _Loki._ The one in the myths. And I guess the Asgardians are pretty immortal."

"Wow," Wanda breathes. She finds herself wondering if Loki's magic is better than hers. She kind of hopes so. "Can we go?" she asks. "I'm ready. I really want to get out of here."

"You maybe wanna get dressed?" Pietro suggests. They haven't had any of her stuff sent over from Genosha yet, but Pietro lent her pajamas, and the house takes care of laundry without any help.

"Right," Wanda says. She considers just using magic to do it, but she balks at the idea for no reason. "Just give me a sec and I'll be ready."

"Sure!" says Pietro as she retreats into the bedroom. "I'll call."

Wanda gets dressed as slowly as possible, even though she knows it will make Pietro tense. She's nervous about any new people, after years of learning that they're never what they seem.

She can only take so long, though, and pretty soon she has to leave the bedroom. She takes a deep breath and opens the bedroom door.

A very tall, very handsome, somewhat eagle-faced woman turns from Pietro to look at her. The woman is as curvy as Wanda, but she wears it like an adult. She’s dressed in green and it clings. Pietro says, "Wanda! Um, this is Loki, thisismysister." He waves his hands between them and looks pleased and flustered.

Wanda smiles tentatively. "Pleased to meet you," she says. "Pietro talks about you a lot." She feels wooden and horrible. She didn't picture this when Pietro talked about Loki. _Woman_ didn't quite mean _this_ woman.

"Well met," Loki says to Wanda, and gives Pietro a sideways smile. "Shall we go?"

"How?" Wanda asks. "Pietro said you’d give us a ride—I think—I could probably take us." She can't always control her magic, so it's stupid to offer, but she feels like she has to. She doesn't want to feel shorter, less attractive, less together, _and_ worse at magic.

"Thank you," Loki says. "I'm accustomed to this route." She sounds slightly fond and mostly annoyed, and Wanda can't place what it's directed at.

"You can bring us home," Pietro promises Wanda.

"Deal," Wanda says, smiling at him. He's paying attention. He always is. "Let's go, then." She grabs his hand out of habit.

"Lovely," says Loki, unsmiling. She puts her hand on Pietro's shoulder (does she even _need_ to do that?) and then there's a gut twisting change in the shape of things, and a moment later they are standing in a stone room with a fire in the grate and books everywhere.

"Oh, wow," Wanda says, when she feels like she's not about to fall over. "Do you live here?"

"Mm," Loki says. "Castle Doom. Welcome to Latveria."

Pietro gives her a worried look, because she's being particularly standoffish, and he's afraid she'll chase Wanda away instead of helping.

"Is Victor here?" he asks.

"With the children," Loki says.

"Pietro said you have kids," Wanda says. "I want kids someday." She doesn't know why she's being so desperate and stupid and friendly. Loki probably isn't worth it.

Loki looks at Pietro and then at Wanda and says, "You’re welcome to meet them, but mine might dissuade you."

"I don't think so," Wanda says, drawing herself up. "I like all kinds of kids."

Loki says nothing, but Pietro can see her growing brittle, which means she doesn't trust Wanda and doesn't like her yet, either. Pietro tries to ignore the knots in his stomach.

"Let’s go see them now," he says.

“All right,” Loki says. Wanda grabs Pietro's hand again and doesn't let go. She feels like everyone's just waiting for her to mess up. She's waiting, too. Pietro squeezes her hand back. Loki doesn't say anything—only leads them downstairs and outside, into the field that opens up into Fenrir and Sleipnir's roaming ground.

Wanda looks around, immediately cheering up. "It smells like home," she says. It looks like home, too.

"I know, isn't it great?" Pietro says, beaming at her.

"Your home country," Loki says. "I was there once. It's very pretty. Why did you leave?"

Wanda blinks at her, all her defenses going up. "It wasn't safe," she says shortly. That's part of the truth.

“Perhaps your father offered something better,” Loki says, but at Pietro’s expression she changes tactics. “Homelands are not always what they should be.” Pietro relaxes, and Loki starts off across the field. “This way,” she says.

Wanda gives Pietro a tiny, reassuring smile and follows Loki. She's more nervous of Doctor Doom than the children, at this point, and more nervous of Loki than the rest. 

It doesn't take long to find them; Victor emerges from the tree line ahead of them, accompanied by something very large and very shaggy.

"There they are!" says Pietro. 

"He's _beautiful_ ," Wanda whispers.

"Victor or the wolf?" Loki says, in a silky voice that doesn't match her expression.

"The wolf," Wanda says. "Oh, I--Sorry, I didn't notice Victor. I--I really like animals. Sorry. I should say hello."

Victor raises an arm as they approach, and the sun gleams off it.

"We have a guest," Loki says. Her voice is not as indifferent as it is obviously meant to be. Pietro feels his worry ease up an inch.

"Say hello to Fenrir," he whispers to Wanda. " _That's Fenrir._ That's her baby."

"Hello!" Wanda says. She really wants to pat him, but she'll wait until he says it's all right.

Fenrir trots up, snuffing the air curiously. "No food?" he asks Loki.

"I just fed him," Victor says, "don't listen to him. Hello, Pietro. This must be your sister."

"Yeah," says Pietro, and glows at Wanda so fiercely that no one could help noticing it. "Wanda's staying with me for a few--for awhile. I'm, y'know, I'm giving her the tour."

"Next stop, your eccentric foreign friends," Victor says gently. 

("That's _all_ my friends," Pietro mutters.)

"Good to meet you, Wanda," says Victor. "I've heard a lot about you."

Wanda hates hearing that, so she just says, "I like your wolf. I mean, hi."

"Fenrir and Sleipnir just moved here," Pietro says. "I helped. With Sleipnir, anyway. Fenrir doesn't need my help, right, bro?"

Fenrir extends himself and whuffles Pietro's hair. "Right," he says. "You smell like mutant breakfast. Not breakfast for wolves," he clarifies.

Wanda feels a pang, watching them, but she tries to ignore it.

"I made eggs," Pietro says. "I make great fucking breakfast. Right?" he asks Wanda. Loki smiles, and it shows her teeth.

"Perfect breakfast," Wanda says. "You know about mutants?" she asks Fenrir.

He nods, looking at her properly. "My mother is teaching me."

Loki says, "Pietro would be a better teacher, but Pietro is always off with the _Avengers_ now." From the way she says it, Wanda can't imagine that Loki and the Avengers get along very well. But she'd _heard_...

"Yes, thank goodness," Victor says. "I think if all three of them lived here, we'd never have a moment's peace." He turns to Pietro his expression hidden beneath the mask. "I hope you know I don't mean that."

"It's cool," Pietro says easily.

Victor laughs. "Good," he says. "You'd better."

"So, you come here a lot," Wanda says, miserable and uneasy.

"Not that often," Pietro says.

"Wanda," says Loki, pushing back her hair. "Pietro says there is something wrong with your magic. Maybe you and I should talk for awhile."

"Um," Wanda says. "Um, I guess." She wonders suddenly how well her powers would work on a god.

"If I hurt you, Pietro probably wouldn’t forgive me," Loki says preemptively, looking past her. "Besides, as long as you're not evil, I can't see that we'll have a problem."

"Of course I'm not evil!" Wanda snaps. "Why does everyone assume I'm going to hurt Pietro? He's the last thing in the world I'd hurt."

"It'snotyou," Pietro says quickly. "There was just some stuff. I told you. I mean--" There's a lot Pietro would be willing to say if there wasn't anybody else around, but there _are_ people around, so he just tries to look reassuring.

"If you can trust anyone with him, it's me," Wanda tells Loki and Victor firmly, her cheeks burning with anger. "He's my brother. _Mine_."

Fenrir scuffs the ground with one paw.

"It's okay," Pietro says. "Wanda, it's fine, nobody means anything, they're just, it's fine. It's fine, okay?"

Wanda swallows and calms herself down, almost entirely because she can see Pietro freaking out and needs to stop it. "Okay," she says softly. "Okay, I will."

Pietro nods, and puts out a hand for Fenrir to sniff. He says, “So, you're right, we had a question.”

“We like to answer questions,” Victor says mildly. He’s watching Wanda. It makes her worry.

Fenrir licks Pietro’s hand with his huge tongue and makes an agreeable snuffling noise.

Pietro glances at Wanda and back at Loki and Victor, and says, “Wanda’s magic is...a lot of magic. And it’s acting kind of weird?”

“How much?” Loki asks. “How weird?” She’s watching Fenrir nose Pietro’s hand, and not paying attention. She almost always pays attention to Pietro, and it makes him anxious and a little angry that she’s being so standoffish now that Wanda is with him.

“A lot,” Wanda says, because after all, this conversation is about her. “Even my father isn’t sure how much. It’s my mutation.” She doesn’t know how to answer the other question.

Loki does look up at her then, with infuriating unconcern. “Do you know what to do with it?”

“Of course she does,” Pietro says. He can’t figure out what’s _wrong._ He barely remembers what it’s like for Loki not to like him, for her edges to be as sharp as they look.

“Not always,” Wanda corrects him. “I can do a lot, but sometimes it’s hard to predict and impossible to control. I can—I can bend reality, and I don’t always notice myself doing it. Does that answer your question?” She feels terrified and defiant and guilty all at the same time.

“Has anyone _taught you_ what to do with it?” Loki says.

This answer is easy. “No,” Wanda says. “When I found out I had it, everyone thought I was a freak. Then Magneto found us, but he doesn’t really know magic. He can help a little, but it’s not something he really understands. I don’t know any other witches.”

Loki looks approving, although Pietro doesn’t know why.

“I see why Pietro brought you to visit,” she says. “Do you want help, Ms. Maximoff, or would you prefer to let your power go until you change something terrible and you can’t take it back?”

Wanda hesitates. Everything about Loki sets her on edge, but Loki is _right_. She knows what Wanda has been afraid of. “I want help,” she says. “I don’t know if I want _yours_ yet.”

Loki smiles, with many teeth. She looks a lot like Fenrir when she does that, although he’s not baring his.

“I couldn’t speak to what you want,” Loki says. “Let’s talk alone, and I’ll tell you if I have what you need. And if I’ll give it to you.”

Pietro fidgets. He knows Loki isn’t nice—everyone says so, or they used to—but Loki’s always been nice to _him,_ at least after the first time they met. He doesn’t know how to fight back now that she’s being—mean?

Wanda is practically vibrating with tension. She knows an enemy when she sees one, and Loki has all the signs. But Pietro trusts her. This doesn’t make sense. “Pietro…” she starts.

“We’re on your side,” Victor says. Standing next to Loki, in his metal suit, he doesn’t come off as very comforting. Wanda would like to tell him that.

“We’re on your brother’s, anyway,” Loki says.

“That’s the same thing!” Wanda snaps. A pinkish glow starts up at her fingertips.

“Not of late,” says Loki, raising her eyebrows.

Wanda stops. “Is that what this is about? Are you afraid _I_ might hurt him?” It sounds crazy, but, she realizes, she kind of already did. “Look,” she says, “I thought he abandoned me. But I’ll never stop being on his side. I don’t even know you. You don’t even know him.” She just wants them to _go away_. The world is swimming a little, as if everything is very hot.

Loki is peering at her too intensely, like a mouse she’s about to slap under her paw.

“Stopstopstop,” Pietro says, his voice high. “Pleasedon’t, please, Wanda, Victor, pleasemakeherstop!”

“I think that’s enough,” Victor says sharply. “Everyone, _enough_.”

Wanda looks at her hands. They’re glowing brightly now, and she can’t think straight. “What did I do?” she asks.

“Nothing,” says Pietro. “Didn’t do anything. Don’t worry.”

“You did enough for the moment,” Loki says, looking pleased and consternated at the same time.

Wanda starts to cry, too jarred to stop herself or to care. Her hands aren’t glowing anymore. Fenrir sticks his muzzle out gingerly and bumps Wanda’s elbow with the tip of his nose.

Loki looks at Victor with her eyebrows pinched together. “Why is she crying?”

“Because you’re an _asshole,”_ Pietro says, hugging Wanda’s shoulders.

Loki sighs.

“You must admit you can be a little insensitive, my dear,” Victor says.

“I want to go home,” Wanda says forcefully, but it doesn’t mean anything. This is as close to home as anywhere else.

“I wanted her to use her magic accidentally,” Loki says. “I didn’t want her to _cry.”_

“ _Insensitive,”_ Pietro repeats.

“If this world isn’t one of your making,” Loki says, “it’s only because you haven’t quite worked up to it.”

Wanda can’t keep her teeth from chattering unless she clenches them. She shakes her head, trying to make herself stop crying, but it’s not working. She can’t even reach out to her magic on purpose now, which is probably good.

“Do something,” Victor says to the world at large.

“Should I lean near her?” Fenrir asks. “My magic is better now. I can help.”

“Might as well,” Loki says. 

Fenrir takes a few careful steps forward and then sits down beside Wanda, inclining his giant shaggy body toward her. “You can pat me,” he suggests. “I won’t eat you up.”

Wanda stops crying abruptly, because the situation is just too weird. She reaches out and pats Fenrir, smoothing his surprisingly soft fur under her hand. “Good wolf,” she says quietly.

Fenrir laughs.

“Okay, so, if you’re done being an asshole, are you going to help, or what?” Pietro says, scowling.

“Someone has to,” Loki says. “Soon, I think. I suppose you could go to Stephen Strange, but he doesn’t know you and he might not like to be involved—Victor? Strange and Magneto. How likely is he to intervene?”

“He’s a cautious man,” Victor says with distaste. “Brilliant, but cautious. And he rarely likes to involve himself in the affairs of others. He’s almost insultingly private, and bear in mind that I’m the one making this judgment. I don’t think it’s worth trying.”

It somehow hadn’t occurred to Wanda until now that getting _help_ controlling her magic was a real option. She was expecting, at best, a little advice. “I’d rather you helped,” she says quietly. “If you want.” Her hand is still buried in Fenrir’s fur. She’s not less upset with Loki, but she thinks she trusts her to be able to help.

"Mm," says Loki. "Well. I do like Pietro, and I like the universe as it is well enough."

"That means you'll _help,_ right?" Pietro says.

"As much as I can," Loki says.

"Thanks," says Pietro. "You're a real bitch today."

"No doubt," says Loki, looking at Fenrir. "Wanda, shall we talk?"

"Okay," Wanda says meekly. She just wants to sleep for a thousand years.

"Come with me, then," Loki says, nodding her head in the direction of the castle they've just left. She starts off without waiting, or without saying anything to the others.

Wanda follows her, glancing back only once for Pietro. He trusts these people, she reminds herself.


	22. loki and wanda get something straight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Power is not the same as self-destruction," she says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: none

Loki leads Wanda to a room in the castle, mostly empty. It could be a bedroom for the size, but there are no windows, barely any furniture, and an empty hearth. It isn’t very warm.

Wanda feels a little scared. Loki’s a god, she reminds herself. She’s probably more powerful than Wanda. Probably.

"What happens now?" she asks. "Are you going to yell at me again?"

"A little," says Loki. She taps her fingers on the table--her nails are _very_ long, and awfully green. She says, "It's possible, you know, that this is already a world you've created. Perhaps in the real world, Pietro did run away without you. Perhaps you've made it so he didn't, because it was all that you could bear." She meets Wanda's eyes, and hers are icy. "In which case, Pietro would do Pietro could do in such circumstances, and you are in large part responsible for everything that has hurt him."

She lets that settle for a second before she continues. "If this is _not_ a world of your making," she says, "you are still guilty of placing the word of a dispassionate and calculating man over the faith of your own brother. However badly you feel about that, it does make you less than trustworthy. So I think it is worth the warning: if you _do_ hurt him, Wanda, I will find a way make you pay, no matter how powerful you might be."

Wanda has gone pale and quiet, but inside, she's seething. When Loki finishes, Wanda says, "How dare you? How dare you threaten me? I've spent my entire life _bound_ to him. I would never, ever intentionally do anything to hurt him."

“I didn't think you would," Loki says. "It doesn't always help."

Wanda takes a shaky breath. "Do you really think I could have made this?" she asks. "This entire--reality?"

Loki shrugs. "I'm not sure how we would know, either way. But that's the way your power tends, which is a good reason for you to be educated properly. Learning magic is ugly without a teacher."

Finally, Wanda feels some kind of connection. She grabs hold of it. "You didn't have one, did you?" she asks.

"None worth the title," Loki says. "But I had a lot longer than you to work it out. And nothing _I_ did changed the flow of history, that I'm aware."

"Can you still help me?" Wanda asks, suddenly panicked. She doesn't want to be the biggest fish in the pond. That's _horrifying_.

"Very likely," Loki says. "I don't need to be more powerful than you. I only need to know more than you do about what you need to know."

Wanda nods, tearing up again. "Okay," she says. "Um, God. Okay."

For the first time since their meeting, Loki visibly relents a little.

"How often have you even spoken to another witch?" she says. "How often has anyone given you any sort of critical understanding of what you _do?"_

A very ugly look comes over Loki's face, and she says, "That's what you are. But it doesn't mean what they meant."

Wanda covers her face with one hand and tries to breathe normally. "Uh, thanks. I'm sorry I'm fucking up so much." She usually lets Pietro do the swearing, but it feels necessary.

Loki laughs, and then looks a lot more cheerful. "Never mind. I am difficult, and you--" Wanda, Loki thinks, seems slightly _off._ But this is not the time to say so. "--I am probably pushing too fast. I'm told I do that. Only Stark keeps up." She frowns.

Wanda blinks, surprised. "You _are_ friends with him," she says. "You're not at all how I imagined. None of them are."

"I imagine not," Loki says grimly.

"They get Pietro," Wanda says. "You'd better get him, too."

"Any aspect in particular?" Loki asks blandly.

"You use his name a lot," Wanda says carefully. "When you talk about him. That's good. I think you're doing that on purpose." If these people can understand Pietro, maybe they'll want her, too.

“I myself don't like it when Thor calls me his brother," Loki says.

Wanda pauses, not sure what to ask. "Um, yeah, when Pietro talked about you, he said--Well, I didn't expect this."

"It changes from time to time," Loki says, glancing away. "The point is that Pietro has nothing to fear from Victor or me. Nothing he is or does or has experienced is outlandish enough to be unfamiliar to one or the other of us." She grimaces. A heart-to-heart is preferable to world-ending cataclysms brought about by a panicking child, but Loki feels as though she is coated in a thick layer of grime. Her skin itches.

Wanda offers a little smile. "Good," she says.

It's more than good. They were never safe before this. She's still not, but if Pietro is...

"Yes," Loki says, and decides she can afford one more reinforcement of truth, just to hold Wanda in place. "Why would I threaten you, otherwise?"

Wanda laughs, still a little teary. "Good point," she says. "Okay, I trust you. I trust the Avengers, mostly. What now?"

Loki opens her mouth to say, _Now we work,_ and then remembers that everyone hates it when she does that. Everyone except Tony needs to slow down.

"First we'll show the others that we haven't murdered one another," she says. "Then we'll have something to eat, and _then,_ if you're up for it, we'll start to piece together what you're doing and how much you're working with."

Wanda shuts her eyes. "Okay," she says. "Okay."

Loki purses her lips. "Did you see the fence?" she asks.

Wanda nods. "Is that for Fenrir?"

"Sleipnir too," Loki says. "Or he'd run away. That's half Stark's technology. The other half is magic. My magic. Completely stable, and I don't need to do more than tune it up occasionally." Loki looks pleased with herself. "Power is not the same as self-destruction," she says. "Not always."

Wanda blinks at Loki, breathless. "Oh," she says.

"Oh," Loki agrees. "Come on. Pietro will worry I've killed you and been removed from this universe."

Wanda shivers. The joke isn't that funny.

"Coming," she says, and she follows Loki.

Pietro is sitting with his knees up, leaning against Fenrir's flank, when Loki and Wanda return to the field.

"Was Loki a dick?" he yells when they get within earshot.

Wanda laughs. Being in the same place as Pietro automatically makes her feel better. "Only a little!" she calls back, speeding up to jog over to him.

"We've nearly reached a truce," Loki says.

"Nearly?" Victor asks. "How long can it possibly take?" He chuckles.

Wanda sits down next to Pietro, ignoring Fenrir's looming body. "I'm so worn out," she says. "I guess you were right about everybody. They're all okay." Not nice, but okay.

"A bunch of freaks," Pietro agrees.

"That's what I thought the Brotherhood was," Wanda says. "And they are. But not the good kind." She still trusts Magneto, but she's pretty much done with everyone else there. She has been for a while.

"Yeah?" Pietro says hopefully. "I coulda told you that about Creed, for sure. Guy's a creep." His expression gets a little odd, but he pushes on, "Raven's all right, except she's Magneto's number one groupie."

"I think she's pissed off that he has _real_ daughters now," Wanda says. "If that's even what she thinks she is to him."

She has no way of knowing, but she thinks Victor is smirking. Pietro isn't. He's picking at a tiny snarl in Fenrir's fur.

"Yeahwell," he says. "Magneto can keep Lorna. I don't think he likes _her_ more than Raven."

"He doesn't know what he's got when he has it," Wanda says fiercely.

"I do," Pietro mumbles.

"Yeah," Wanda says, putting her hand on his arm. "I know. Hey, let's not lose track of each other again, okay?"

"Okay," Pietro says, uncharacteristically still.

"You aren't going to learn to manage your magic in a few days," Loki says. "We can start this afternoon, but you'll be in arms' reach for a month or two at least. Don't rush your goodbyes."

"I'm not going anywhere," Wanda says quickly. "I just wanted him to know that if I do, it won't be far, or for long. Okay, Pietro?" She feels a brief pang of guilt. This probably isn't what Magneto hand in mind when he sent her here.

"Really?" Pietro says, surprised and then guilty for saying it aloud, in front of other people. "I mean, we can talk about it later, I just thought you were going back right away. You know, to live."

Wanda hesitates. "I meant to," she says. "I really meant to. I think he wanted me to. But how am I supposed to leave when I've just found you again? And everyone's being so _good_ to us."

She bites her lip, feeling stupid. She doesn't want to look at Victor, who probably think it's stupider than anyone. She can hear a slight creak as he clenches his armored fist.

"Gods are never worth the cost," Loki says shortly. "Fenrir, where is your brother? He'll be angry if we don't say hello."

"Running around," Fenrir says huffily. "Like an idiot. It's all he ever does."

"They were racing each other earlier," Victor tells Loki. "Far apart, but still."

Pietro grins. "Poor wolf. At least I pet you sometimes, right?"

"Give him a call," Loki suggests. "I don't feel like one of his tempers."

Victor turns away and undoes his mask to whistle between his fingers, a sharp burst of sound.

Fenrir shakes himself, then settles back down by Pietro.

The rumbling of hooves against the earth starts far off, and quickly materializes into the body of a great horse. It takes Wanda a minute to realize that what looks strange about the horse is _too many legs._

"Isn't he _great?"_ says Pietro.

Wanda stares at the horse. "He's _fast_ ," she says. "Is he as fast as you?"

"Almost!" Pietro says. "Sometimes. He can't do water, but I think that's just because he's so fucking big." Sleipnir slows up and snorts at Pietro, who says, "Well, you are. You're basically a moose."

Wanda grins--and edges away a little. Too many feet. One of them might accidentally tread on her.

"Well, then, I suppose we are keeping her," Victor says to Loki, looking at the twins and the animals. 

"What?" says Loki, startled. "Oh, no. Victor. Why do you _say_ things like that? Don’t rush. I'm not--I'm not a _mother hen."_

"One would have thought not, indeed," Victor says. "But look around you, dear."

Loki sneers, but with very little bite.

"We're so fucking cute," Pietro says, grinning. “How could you ever say no?”

"I would manage."

Wanda doesn't know if she's included in Pietro's _we_. Pietro would say yes. Loki would probably say no. Wanda wants to stick around a little longer and find out.

"We are _really_ cute," she says.

Loki looks down and gives her a considering look, nearly a smile.

"I suppose," she says. "And I suppose we'll see what else you can do."


	23. loki makes things better and worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm sure she's used to being hated," Victor says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: references to past bad shit, bad families, bad bad bad

As soon as they are fed dinner and the moment seems safe, Victor shows Pietro and Wanda to a wing of the castle that houses bedrooms and the larger of the libraries. They should be able to amuse themselves there, Victor thinks, without getting into too much trouble. Then he takes Loki to their bedroom, the last safe haven from any roosting children.

He takes off his mask immediately. "Well, my love, what do you think?"

"She's dangerous," Loki says. "And I don't trust her at all. You're too quick to take her in."

"Mm." Victor shrugs and puts his arms around Loki, pulling her close to see what will happen. "I like her. She's just troubled."

Loki ducks out from under Victor’s arm and sheds her cloak, dropping it rather forcefully at his feet.

"She is trouble for Pietro," Loki says. "She is probably trouble for us."

"I would have said Pietro was trouble, when he first arrived," Victor argues. He doesn't know why he's so keen to defend Wanda--Well, no, that's a lie. He knows. "I would have called you trouble, too."

"You did," Loki snips. "But as you may recall, Thor never needed to be protected from _me."_

Victor laughs. "I can't believe this. You're actually afraid the little witch will hurt him. He's just as likely to hurt her. I think Magneto's engineering of Pietro's removal from Genosha proved that."

"That doesn't prove anything except that she's had longer to be twisted by her father," Loki says. She pulls her dress over her head and looks down at herself, frustrated. The curve of her breast is only visible for a few seconds before she changes, abruptly and more quickly than usual. His hair is a little out of place when he's finished.

Victor watches for a moment, impassive, before beginning to discard the rest of his armor. "She's afraid," he says. "Surely you saw that. She has an immense amount of power and no idea how to control it." He shudders and wishes he hadn't.

"I know _that,"_ Loki snaps. "If I didn't I wouldn't have offered to help. She threatens everything, as it stands now, and practically _anyone_ would say even I'm a better influence than Magneto."

Victor is silent. Then he says, "Do you really think she can change reality?"

Loki shrugs, stepping on a boot to pull it off without actually doing so. It's a different boot than he wore a moment ago, which gives rise to the question of why he bothered clothing this form at all. He says, "That seems to be what she does already. Small changes should have profound effects, never mind if she has enough power for larger ones."

"Interesting," Victor says, with badly-feigned indifference. "Well, if you're going to help her you'd better learn to like her." He's done shedding his armor now.

"Amora helped me well enough," Loki mutters, pulling his feet out of his boots. He doesn't do anything about his trousers or stockings, only wanders off to sulk by the window.

Victor sighs and follows. "Do you want Wanda to have as hard a time as you did? Really?" He puts his hand on the small of Loki's back.

"I don't want Wanda at all," Loki says unpleasantly.

"But Pietro does," Victor says.

"She strips away every ounce of strength he's built without her," Loki says, scowling.

"There are families that have the potential not to be terrible," Victor says sharply.

"Theirs?" Loki scoffs. "I think not."

"She's little more than a child," Victor presses. "Give her a chance to see the truth about her father."

"I am," Loki says. His mouth is a tight, flat line.

"Loki," Victor says. He bends and kisses Loki's shoulder. "Pietro has allies. We've seen to that, as have the Avengers. But those allies need not alienate a sister as broken as he is in the name of defending him."

"She's let enough happen to him already," Loki says flatly.

"Who are you really angry at?" Victor asks. "This frightened, anxious girl? Honestly?"

"Yes," Loki says promptly. "Oh, I know, you've figured it out, this is all about my brother, because _I_ nearly died and he should have known what was happening to me. I can still be angry for Pietro, Victor. Especially if Pietro isn't going to bother."

Victor crosses his arms. "Just don't let that anger push her too far. You've told me what she's capable of."

"Thanks for the advice," Loki says. He plucks a robe out of mid-air and climbs very finally into bed.

"I'm always happy to advise you," Victor says, discarding his shirt and joining Loki. He runs his hand up Loki's back to see what sort of reaction he gets. Loki hisses quietly.

"My love," Victor says, "we won't let Pietro come to harm."

" _We,"_ Loki hisses. "You're a villain and I'm a disaster. Do you really think we're _parents_ now, just because Odin managed to get a few infants out of me and I, stupid creature that I am, went to the bother of gathering them up?"

The bizarre reality of their situation, of raising Fenrir and Sleipnir, of taking in Pietro, has troubled Victor only obscurely. It's hardly interfering with his work, after all.

"I do think we're parents," he says woodenly. "Yes." The answer isn't calculated to placate Loki, this time. It's just true.

"Well, Victor, I am terrible at it, and there are _too many,"_ Loki says hotly. "I cannot teach her anything, and I cannot protect Pietro from what has already happened, and I cannot bear to watch him pretend for her sake that it didn't."

"Then let me deal with it," Victor says. He leans against Loki slightly, not quite touching, just enough that he can feel him there. "That's why there are two of us."

"There are two of us because you saw an interesting rock fall to Earth," Loki mumbles into the bed.

"And kept it," Victor says, leaning close to press his mouth to the base of Loki's skull.

Loki catches his breath. "I'm angry at _everything,"_ he says emphatically. "Perhaps it's not the girl's fault that she's everything I hated in Thor as well as everything I hated in myself, but it doesn't help."

"I'm sure she's used to being hated," Victor says.

Loki stiffens.

"That wasn't fair," he says after a moment.

"Hating a nineteen-year-old girl who's half mad isn't fair," Victor says.

Loki gets up, too abruptly for Victor to stop him, and is gone from the room before Victor can speak.

~

He arrives slightly better coiffed, and knocks on the door of the library rather than going straight in (he does know something about diplomacy).

Pietro answers the door, looking displeased at the interruption but otherwise happy. "Oh!" he says. "What?"

"I want to speak to your sister," Loki says. "She is here, is she she not?"

Wanda gets up and comes over to the door, just behind Pietro. "What?" she asks. "Who is it?" She hates herself for instantly being on guard.

"Loki," Pietro says obviously, and then glances back at Wanda. "Oh, fuck, right, I forgot to say. It's Loki."

Loki only refrains from making any pointed comments because it wouldn't make Victor any happier if he started any late-night, castle-shaking fights.

"Oh my God," Wanda says. She doesn't put the magic away. And okay, yes, it's obviously Loki, but--She takes a step backward into the library. If Loki was intimidating before, he's more unnerving now.

 

Loki looks to Pietro. "Was it a mistake?" he asks.

"Um," says Pietro.

Wanda shakes the magic out of her hands and wraps her arms around herself self-consciously. "Uh, sorry, God, I'm so insensitive. What did you need?"

"I apologize for intruding," Loki says. "But I thought you might be under the impression, Ms. Maximoff, that you are not safe here."

Wanda doesn't drop her arms. "The only place I've ever felt safe-- _completely_ safe--" she says in a clipped voice, "is Genosha."

"Quite," says Loki, not looking at Pietro. "Fortunately I am not here to dictate how you _feel._ " He meets her eyes. "You are safe. Your brother wants little else but you. Victor seems to have become attached already. Either of them, you'll rejoice to know, will endure nearly anything before they will harm someone they love."

Pietro makes a small noise.

"And what about you?" Wanda asks, not looking away from Loki. She can feel herself getting angry, and she tries to stop.

"I love _them,"_ Loki says. He blinks, and eases up. "Besides, nothing I’d like to blame you for is truly your fault. And I have promised to help."

Wanda doesn't know what all of that means, but she decides she doesn't need to. If she doesn't feel safe her, she at least feels _safer_. This isn't the outside world where witch is a bad word.

"Okay," she says quietly.

Loki inclines his head. "That was all," he says, but then waves a hand. "Oh, I forgot--Pietro, did you tell Wanda about Victor's mother? Perhaps it would help. A thought. Good night, twins."

He doesn't wait for any answers before he vanishes from the doorway.

"Had a mother," Pietro says. "She was like us."

Wanda hesitates. "Like us how? A mutant?"

"Roma," Pietro says.

"Oh," Wanda says, her voice hushed. That never happens. Maybe it doesn't make sense that she suddenly feels safer, but she does.

"That's how," Pietro starts, and stops for a second while he decides whether Loki's _tell Wanda_ covers everything. He thinks is probably does. Victor's proud of it, anyway, even if he doesn't talk about it to people he doesn't like.

"His face," Pietro says. "It was hellfire. He tried to get her back."

Wanda covers her mouth. "Oh, God." Suddenly Doom's armor doesn't seem so alarming. "Loki meant it. We're really okay here."

Pietro nods, smiling widely. "Don't worry about Loki, anyway," he says. "He's a little crazy, I think, but--not _bad._ Just cranky. I think he has some shit. I—I don’t know anything about that. Buthe'sgood."

Wanda doesn't really trust anyone who _doesn't_ have some shit. "Good," she says. "Now how do I get him to stop yelling at me?" It's weird, saying _him_.

Pietro throws himself down in a chair and grins.

"No idea," he says. "He’s never yelled at _me."_

Wanda sticks her tongue out. "You're a brat. Well, I'm going to check out the rest of the library. Coming?"

Pietro pops up on his feet again. "Fuck yes," he says. "Books are like a thousand times better when you're reading them."


	24. loki and doom take a moment to themselves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I love you," Victor says, brave and vicious. "I want you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: explicit (cis~ m/m) consensual sex, references/effects of past trauma, references to bestiality, awkward but loving relationships

Loki returns to the bedroom and puts himself to bed so quickly that he’s under the covers before Victor has turned from his place by the window.

"Loki?" Victor says cautiously. He'd probably know if Loki had blown up the library.

“Go away, Victor,” Loki say.

“It went well, then," Victor says dryly, joining him.

"What _it?"_ Loki says. "You keep trying to become a mind-reader and it's horribly unattractive."

Victor sighs. "I take it you spoke to the girl. I can't think what else you would have been doing."

“I told her she would be safe,” Loki says moodily. “I told Pietro to explain about your mother.”

Victor laughs, surprised. "Thank you," he says. "I do think that will help. I appreciate it. Are you going to let me kiss you?"

“Yes,” Loki says. 

Victor pulls Loki to him, tangling his hands in Loki's hair. Loki hums and digs his nails into Victor's shoulder, dragging his other hand across Victor's scarred face. 

"Oh yes," Victor mutters. "That's better." He never tires of the way Loki's nails feel. He slides his knee between Loki's legs and kisses him harder. Loki is momentarily submissive, hands going slack, tilting his head to get Victor's tongue deeper into his mouth. Victor groans and bites Loki's lip at the corner, hard enough to bruise.

Loki chokes on a yelp. "I don't know if pleasing you is better or worse than making you angry," he murmurs, and slides down until he's flat on his back, Victor's leg still forcing his apart.

Victor shifts until he's on top of Loki entirely, covering him with his body. "You always please me," he says.

"You're not wearing your mask," Loki says. "You're a terrible liar." But his eyes are trapped by Victor's, wide and slightly anxious.

Victor shakes his head, his hair falling into his eyes a little. It's getting too long. "In the end," he says, "you always do."

 

Loki relaxes against the pillows and shuts his eyes. He would say, _I told Wanda I love you,_ but that's too much.

Victor, satisfied, kisses Loki again. He doesn't know what he needs, or what Loki does, and oddly, that's rather freeing. He's quite happy to find out where this leads. 

Loki pulls back after a minute.

"Victor," he says slowly.

“Loki,” Victor answers, bemused.

“I’ve only tried to fuck you the once,” Loki says. His face is extremely innocent. Victor thinks he is embarrassed. 

Victor narrows his eyes. "Yes? I recall it going very, very poorly."

"It wasn't my idea," Loki points out. "And there were--circumstances."

"Are you suggesting it's your idea now?" Victor asks, intrigued.

"Yes, Victor, that's exactly what I'm suggesting," Loki says. He looks very serious, flat on his back.

"Then yes," Victor says quickly, before Loki has the chance to get into a huff. "Yes, I want that."

"Oh, good," Loki murmurs, and flips Victor onto his back. Loki gives a little pleased smile, perched above him on hands and knees. "Don't worry, Victor," he says. "Between us I'm sure we have miles of experience and nothing at all can go wrong."

Victor is already nervous enough about this kind of thing. "If we decide halfway through that it's a mistake, we'll stop," he says firmly. "Either of us, at any time." He knows by now that it’s worth saying.

Loki makes an odd expression. "I promised the girl I wouldn't hurt her," he says softly. He means, _You can't imagine I would still hurt you._ He _can_ imagine, but he wouldn't try. Not today, anyway. Not right now.

"I love you," Victor says, brave and vicious. "I want you. I want you inside me."

Loki shivers and nods, and climbs off of Victor to dig lube out of the drawer in the bedside table. He tosses it onto the bed and strips out of his robe.

"Do you prefer--something?" he asks, and takes a breath, because there's still something in this that sets him on edge and turns him into people he fears.

"If that's easiest, yes," Victor says. He tells himself to relax. This is meant to be good. It can be good.

"Wait," Loki says. "I meant--how do you...?" He kneels on the bed at Victor's feet, looking anxious and embarrassed and young again, the way he does sometimes.

"Loki," Victor says, smiling encouragingly. "I trust you. I trust _us_. This is new for me, too. We can talk through it." He's only done this a handful of times, and it's never been particularly good. But that does not mean he won’t _try._

Loki laughs, though not very convincingly. "It still sounds wrong when you say that," he tells Victor. _Trust._ "It sounds wrong for anyone to say that."

"Perhaps it always will," Victor says, "but even if that's true, I won't stop reminding you." He pauses. "You look lovely."

Victor's knee is not far from Loki's face; Loki leans to rest his forehead there.

"Would you prefer to see me or get on your hands and knees?" he asks, eyes closed, talking to Victor's leg.

"See you, if that's all right," Victor says. "We can keep an eye on one another."

Loki nods briefly, holding in something biting, then leans down between Victor's legs to kiss him, neck first and then lips.

"Mm." Victor tilts his head back and shuts his eyes. "Loki."

"Victor, Victor," Loki murmurs. "Perhaps if we’re lucky we shall keep the children out of our hair long enough for me to fuck you." He nips hard at Victor's throat, nails against his chest.

Victor gasps. Oh, perhaps he _needs_ this. He hadn't realized. He arches his back and presses against Loki, into his touch.

Loki shoves him back down, teeth still at his throat. He lets Victor's skin slip just to say, "I could be a wolf and do this, Victor. I could tear you apart." His tongue slips down the reddening bruise over Victor's collarbone.

Being threatened shouldn't be so attractive. Victor whimpers and then bites his tongue. "I would hold a wolf," he says. "I'd gladly let any of you in."

Loki whimpers unwillingly, and has to catch his arms from buckling.

"Don't say that," he whispers. "Most of us are animals. Most of me is still monsters." He buries his face against Victor's chest and kisses his way down, slides his fingers against Victor's ribs.

"Aah, you think I care, you think I give a damn?" Victor asks, eyes shut tight, fighting not to shiver.

"You _should,"_ Loki says, nipping at the soft skin over Victor's hipbone with his incisors.

"But don't." Victor opens his eyes and watches Loki. "Beautiful," he mutters.

Loki laughs, pushing Victor's legs apart, licking and biting at his hip. "Your torrid affair with a dog, with a horse, with a ten-inch bird. With a block of ice?"

"Thinking back, I would perhaps avoid the ice," Victor says. Then he can't form coherent words for a long moment when Loki's tongue does something interesting.

Loki crouches with his shoulder under Victor's knee and his breath hot on Victor's cock.

"I hope you don't mind," he says breathlessly. "I'm only going to fuck you like this today."

"I don't mind," Victor says honestly. "Do as you will; I'm yours."  
Loki makes a pleased noise and pushes Victor's thighs apart. Victor never used to say that. He said a lot, but not--

"You're trying awfully hard to want this," Loki murmurs. "Will you be all right, Victor? Assuming I don't cry."

"I make no promises, much as I would like to," Victor says. "But I don't see why I shouldn't be."

"Hmm," Loki says. He lubes his fingers, watching Victor speculatively. He asks, "Are you submitting to me, Victor?", pressing his hand against Victor's ass. "Or am I submitting to you?" His fingers shift, and one slips inside.

Victor gasps and tries to force himself to relax. "All of this is something I asked for," he says. "You're obeying my wishes."

Victor can feel Loki's hand tremble in response, but it's only for a moment, and Loki is visibly less tense afterwards. He pushes his finger in, its whole length, and puts his mouth to Victor's knee in a kiss.

"Oh, God," Victor gasps. "That's--good. It's good. Just--strange." The recognition of control helps, a lot.

Loki frowns and pays attention, fucking Victor slowly and only crooking his finger when Victor's leg grows heavy against his free hand.

Victor finds himself muttering under his breath if he isn't actively stopping himself. "God, yes, that's good, come on, yes," like an idiot.

"Do you want," Loki says, so quickly he feels like Pietro for a moment. "Do you want more?" he says, more carefully.

"Give me more," Victor says, his voice deep and commanding. He feels a quick spike of fear, but he pushes it down.

"Yes," Loki says, ducking his head. He manages to coat another finger in lube without dislodging the first, and he only swallows noiselessly before he stretches Victor open enough to push the second finger in.

He stamps down hard on the part of him that only sees monsters.

"Tell me what you want," he says.

"Slow," Victor says. "But steady. It's good. You're doing so well." It doesn't hurt, it just feels strange.

Loki nods and obeys him, which is strange in itself, but he doesn't look _unhappy._ Only focused, and uncertain.

After a moment, Victor's breath catches, and he hisses through his teeth. "Oh, _yes_."

"That's good?" Loki asks.

"Yes," Victor says breathlessly. "That's very good. Oh, _fuck_." He takes only a second to be embarrassed before pushing against Loki's fingers.

Loki makes a noise, startled, but he settles down more solidly on his knees, and fucks Victor in earnest. He twists his fingers and spreads them apart, eyes flickering up to watch Victor's face.

Victor makes himself keep his eyes open and fixed on Loki. Within a minute, though, he's blushing furiously. He can't stop making stupid, choked little sounds. "Can I," he starts breathlessly. "Can I have your dick?"

"You tell me," Loki says abruptly, fingers still. He is meeting Victor's eye, though, and it's clear he isn't saying it to be obnoxious.

"Get inside me," Victor says, quietly and firmly. Better.

Loki blinks, and carefully pulls his fingers out. It feels odd, but not odd enough to put a stop to anything. Victor watches Loki prepare himself, still careful. He helps lift his hips into Loki's lap, and feels the shift of weight in the bed as Loki leans forward, his arm braced against Victor's side. Victor sees the moment's hesitation before Loki goes in.

Victor groans. "Yes," he says quickly, not looking away from Loki. "Oh, you are so, so good. This is just what I wanted."

Surprisingly, it is.

Loki whimpers, and pushes in a little harder. "I can give you what you want," he says, and it doesn't come out the way he wants, because he wants to mean it and he isn't sure it's true.

It's _annoying,_ he thinks. This one thing shouldn't be so difficult. He wants it. It feels so good his arms are shaking with it. It shouldn't be difficult.

Victor spreads his legs a little wider. "Come on," he pants. "Do it for me."

Loki gives up on words before they make it into his mouth. He leans his weight onto his arms and fucks Victor until his whole body is shaking and they're both moaning.

“Fuck," Victor pants, "Oh, fuck, I forgot how this _feels_ , you're doing this so perfectly, aah--" He grips the sheets in both fists. "Touch me, I need--"

Loki makes a sound, bemused and aggrieved and turned on. He drops onto one elbow and reaches down to wrap his hand around Victor's cock.

Victor curses loudly. He's far past embarrassment, but he's not going to lose control so much that he forgets that he's in charge of Loki.

"Stroke me," he manages.

Loki nods, panting, and starts to move his hand, not exactly in time with his cock. He isn't blinking. His hair is falling into his face and there's sweat under his eyes.

"You can do this," Victor tells him raggedly. "You can. I want to see you do it."

Loki shuts his eyes long enough to swallow, and then shifts forward until his face is close to Victor's.

"When did you start expecting me to give you everything, Victor?" he asks breathlessly.

"I don't recall the exact moment," Victor says. "I'm not even sure if it was before or after I became willing to give you everything."

He can see the startled change in Loki's face, like a baby forgetting how to walk mid-step.

"We have control of this," Victor says steadily. "You can love without becoming wild with it. Don't be afraid."

Loki's expression eases, and he looks down at both of them.

"I have awful timing," he says. “I know.”

When he looks up, his eyes are dark and he isn't smiling anymore. He thrusts in hard enough to shove Victor's whole body forward by inches, and twists his hand roughly around Victor's cock. His free hand comes down on Victor's shoulder, pinning him down.

"Control me, then," he says.

Victor gasps and shudders. "Fuck me," he says thickly. "I'm close. I want you to fuck me so it feels good for _you_."

Loki drops his head and obeys, his fingers digging into Victor's shoulder, his hand tight on Victor's cock. He's been awful and quiet, but now he's making noise, high and loud and shaky with need.

"Oh, yes, get in there," Victor says, barely aware of what he's saying. "Fuck me, oh--" He cries out as he starts to come.

Loki shudders and buries his face against Victor's chest, and he doesn't even ask if he should pull out. His voice is muffled against Victor's ribs, but Victor can still hear him, and he can _feel_ him.

Victor clings to Loki through the orgasm, making obscene little sounds as he shakes and shakes. "Good," he gasps, "good, yes, God."

Loki pulls out, and goes heavy and limp on top of him. He won't unpress his face from Victor's chest.

"Love," Victor says after a moment, "are you well?"

"Fine," Loki says. "I hate you."

"That seems unfair," Victor says, but he's relieved. Loki _is_ well. He goes back to feeling sticky and pleased.

Loki peers up at him, belligerent and damp-eyed but all right. His cheeks are pink, too. "That was _awkward,"_ he says. "Don't I usually have more finesse?"

Victor laughs. "Usually you're under me, so it's harder to tell. But you were fine. I came. I enjoyed it. I don't mind feeling awkward once in a while." _When did that become true?_ , he asks himself.

"Don’t want it too often," Loki orders, tucking his face back against Victor's chest.

"I won't," Victor promises. Loki is heavy and warm, and Victor feels better about the whole day.

"It was fine," Loki mutters. "But I don't believe I like doing it."

"Then I don't need it," Victor says quietly. "I mean that. It's not...my favorite. But I'm glad we tried it. It went well."

Loki digs his nails into Victor's sternum, a little. "Yes," he says. "Even if you're still horrible and make me say things I don't want to and talk to babies I don't like."

Victor gathers him closer to kiss his hair. "My dear, I wouldn't have it any other way."

"I'm going to sleep," Loki says.

“I'll join you," Victor says, already halfway there.


	25. loki and victor check in briefly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Make them all hold hands. Or paws."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: none?

Pietro is with Victor, conveniently, talking about whatever it is that they talk about when Loki isn’t there.

"Your sister wants you," Loki says. "I didn't make her cry, in case you were wondering. She's in the library."

"I _was_ wondering," Pietro says. "Obviously. Thanks." He gives a little wave on his way out.

"Well," Victor says, "that's promising. I think."

"Enjoy hope while you can. I have no idea what to do with her," Loki says.

"I confess myself surprised," Victor says. "Is it her powers or her personality that you find baffling?"

"I don't know how to _teach,"_ Loki says. "Obviously. When would I have learned? Besides, her magic doesn't work anything like mine. She's changing the world to suit herself every time she uses it. I know, everyone does; but I mean she quite literally _changes reality_ and that is how she gets her magic to arrive at what she wants."

Victor had suspected that. He tamps down on all his most useless instinctual responses and says instead, "That's bad. She's too powerful."

"I _know that,"_ Loki says. "It's very much like walking back and forth across a bomb. If I offend her will she prevent my having existed? I don't know how hard I can push, Victor, and I'm not a teacher to begin with."

"Perhaps this isn't a task for you," Victor suggests. "I could try my hand with her. But I've never had a pupil, any more than you have." He's itching to ask just how much her magic can do.

"Then I suppose we’re lost," Loki says, and flings himself onto his back in the grass.

Victor laughs. "I think not. We must, between us, know someone who's taught someone how to use magic."

"Amora," Loki says dully. He's avoided her for ages. He doesn't even know where she is, at present.

Victor frowns. "I don't know the name."

Loki sighs and glares off into the trees. "Asgardian. Obsessed with my brother--Thor, I mean. Taught me the only organized magic I ever learned. Usually she goes by the name Enchantress."

"I see," Victor says. "It doesn't sound as though she and Wanda would get along." That sounds like just one of many good reasons not to contact her.

"They might do well," Loki says. "It's hard to tell, with Amora. At worst, Wanda would do something horrible to her. That would be all right."

Victor laughs, then stops. He has no way of knowing how deep or troublesome Loki's grudge against Amora is. "We can try that, if you like," he says carefully.

"Better me than her," Loki says. "It's _not_ hard to tell with Amora. Anyway, I've already promised to take everyone to Jotunheim."

"On a field trip," Victor says dryly. He'd be lying if he said he didn't want to speak to Laufey, though.

"A what?" Loki says. "Never mind. It doesn't matter. I wonder if I can get everyone into Jotunheim and out again without anyone being eaten or vanished or running off and getting lost."

This, Victor thinks, is why he never had children. Sort of. "Make them all hold hands. Or paws."

"It could be rough," Loki says blandly. "Do you think I'll go wrong with Wanda?"

"Mm," Victor says. "I think Wanda will go wrong. It seems more likely than not, and the safest eventuality to plan for. I don't think it'll be because of you, though." Coming straight from Magneto, she's probably already primed for destruction.

"How encouraging," Loki says sourly. "Why do you want her so much, then? To be at the eye of the storm? More likely the epicenter."

Victor is caught off guard. "I--My mother. She--She reminds me of--" But no, that's not quite it.

Loki stares at Victor from the ground. "I wasn't trying to _torment_ you," he says.

"I know," Victor says sheepishly. "It's just--I've been wondering what the limits of her powers...Never mind."

Loki says, "I'm sure she could do it, although who knows what else she would do in the process."

"I know," Victor says. "I won't ask her. Not now. She's too undisciplined."

"Do you think your mother would like you?" Loki asks, enough of a murmur that Victor won't _necessarily_ hear him.

But Victor hears. He doesn't say anything for a moment. It's not as though he hasn't asked himself that, though.

"Probably not," he says finally. "She was very kind."

Loki blinks at the sky. "You could practice," he says. "Aren't you?"

Victor wonders if he's accidentally stumbled into being kind without meaning to. He can't remember the last time he invented something to hurt someone. Against his own expectations, he has begun to _help_ the people of his country rather than use them.

"I," he says. "Ah. Sometimes?"

"Mm," says Loki. "Well. You're kind to me." He has to grit his teeth as soon as he's said it, but it's true, and saying so is _useful._

Victor swallows. "Good," he says.

"And I doubt you only want to keep Wanda in case she can bring back your mother," Loki adds, and then gets up and says, "I'm going to talk to Fenrir about Laufey. I'll see you at dinner. Let me know if the twins destroy anything, or reinvent reality or whatnot."

Victor, disarmed by the unexpected domesticity, laughs. "Good luck," he says, before turning to go back to the castle.


	26. loki and wanda play with flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's good," she says, not quite a question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: none?

What Wanda is missing most are self-awareness, and a sense of scale. They're equally important, and Loki has not yet decided, in the short weeks they’ve been working together, whether anything they're doing is lessening the problems. Wanda has already tried to slightly rebuild the local ecosystem, and swap out Loki's genders when he’s made the mistake of showing up for their lessons as a man. Some steps forward require a few delicate steps back.

Today they are working on scale, and control. They're out at the edge of the woods, crouched next to a bank of small white flowers.

"If you want your magic to help you the best it can," Loki says, "don't use more than what is absolutely necessary. And understand exactly what it is you _are_ using."

Wanda sighs. Her sessions with Loki are usually just an exercise in frustration and guilt. She can't do what Loki wants. Most of the time she can't even do what _she_ wants.

"How can I tell?" she asks. "I mean, I can tell what's necessary. I just can't tell how to control that." She isn't sure the first part is true.

Loki sits down properly and frowns. 

"I don't think so," she says. "No, listen—and don’t start worrying first. I think you see a problem, and a solution, and you throw everything at it until it works. You’re using brute strength because you can, Wanda, but you don’t need to. And using magic like brute strength always means casualties. It creates dangers that your plan can't account for, because they didn't exist until you made that plan. Your intelligence should do the heavy lifting.”

“Oh,” says Wanda. “But…”

“You need practice,” Loki says, “in deciding exactly what you want before you set out to get it."  
Wanda hesitates. "What if--What if I'm not always in control of how much--What if I'm not even in control of if I'm doing magic at all?" That doesn't happen all the time, but it happens often enough. "What muscles do I flex? How do I concentrate?"

"You provide yourself with limitations before you start," Loki says, trying not to sound as impatient as she feels. "And you think about consequences. For example, if you changed the color of one of these flowers--tell me, what are you changing?"

Wanda blinks at her. "I--I'm changing the flower? How it looks--No, how it is. I don't know, I never really think about it."

Loki nods. "But you have to. If you know what you're doing, you can better control it. You change reality--so, if you say this flower is yellow because it's a yellow flower, either you change the color of all the flowers like it, or you separate it from its species and introduce an entirely new species to the environment. Maybe they’ve always been yellow. Maybe the environment has always been different. But if you say it's yellow because a parasite changed it, you've created another new organism. I know you can do it easily, but how much is altered when you adjust one little thing?"

Wanda shivers. "I want to stop," she says stiffly, suddenly choking on her words.

"You can't," Loki says sharply. "As you are now, you don't know what you're doing. You don't know when you're doing it. Power like yours can't go uncontrolled. If it frightens you, it's no less dangerous—it will take you over. If you learn how it works, you can choose never to use it again, but now you can't promise as much even if you want to."

Wanda knows it's true, but that doesn't make the idea of continuing any easier. She tries to think about Pietro and how upset she'd be if her powers ever hurt him by accident. "Okay," she says quietly. "I can try."

"All right," Loki says. "Yellow is a rare mutation." She quirks her eyebrows at Wanda. "Only present in a few specimens, all found in this field in Latveria. And they cannot produce viable pollen. Try that. One element at a time." She shrugs. "If you go overboard, there are worse things than yellow flowers."

Wanda takes a deep breath and forces her focus to narrow. She tries to create a tunnel in her mind, a small channel for the magic to flow through so it won't overwhelm the world she's directing it at.

Her fingertips start to tingle. This is harder to cast than her usual spells, probably because she's thinking about it.

"Take a breath," Loki says. "It's not much, only a nudge. Just a delicate little flower." It should be much, to rewrite a species' genetic code, but that doesn't seem to stop Wanda. Very little does, as far as Loki can tell.

Wanda nods and tries to flick out with her mind, as if she's splashing color from the end of a paintbrush. Using visuals seems to help her.

When she opens her eyes, one and only one of the flowers is yellow.

Loki is beaming at her, which is actually a little alarming.

"Wonderful," she says. "Now undo it. And don't kill anything."

Wanda's hands are shaking, but only because she got something _right_. On purpose, even. "I, I can try," she says. This is her. She's doing this. It's almost her idea, even. She can feel everything inside her speeding up, getting too fast to control.

"It should be like untying a slipknot," Loki says. "Don't rush, please."

Wanda's knuckles are white. She shuts her eyes again and thinks about the flower. Instead of simply flipping a switch and changing the color back, she waits. She thinks about the white flowing back into it as its DNA tangles and untangles to wind up different.

"Did it work?" she asks, eyes still shut.

"Oh, very nicely," Loki says. "That was good."

Wanda opens her eyes, shaky with relief. "Oh," she says.

"You're not stupid," Loki says briskly.

Wanda doesn't know what to say to that. No. Of course not. But she's learned to play stupid pretty well. "Thanks, I guess," she says.

"And now we know you're capable, if you pay a little attention," Loki says, as though she hasn't spoken. "Now we'll begin the real work, and if you pretend it's beyond you because no one has ever made you fight without someone else as a shield, I'll know. Crying won't be a help, so I suggest you not."

Wanda is about to get angry, but she's suddenly so overwhelmingly grateful that she can't. "Just wait," she snaps, but she's smiling. "I'm going to surprise you." There are a lot of ways in which she's been made to look weak, but it's only ever been an illusion. She's glad Loki knows it.

Loki smiles at her like a moment's recognition that they're both climbing the rubble of the same disaster. It's the first time Wanda has seen that directed at her and not at Pietro.

"Try the flower again," Loki says. "A different blossom. See if it is easier this time."

This time, Wanda resolves to try it with her eyes open. It's already easier to hold the little channel in her mind, and to let the magic flow through it slowly and naturally.

"I know what you're doing," Loki muses, "but I can't see it happen. I only notice afterwards." It's unnerving, but Loki decides not to voice that opinion at this time.

"That's how it's always worked," Wanda says, a little more sure of herself. "My father said it's not like any other magic he's seen."

"Mm," Loki says noncommittally. "I'm not surprised. Well. Undo it. Remember to focus. Don't rush."

But Wanda is getting ahead of herself now, already so much more sure of how her magic is working. She tries to suck the color out of the flower and all of a sudden something twists wrong in her spell and the flower is just gone.

Loki sighs. "Does it exist anymore?"

Wanda digs her nails into her palms, furious and frustrated. "No," she says fiercely. "I'm sorry."

Do you know it well enough now to bring it back?" Loki asks.

"I don't usually do that," Wanda says. Once she erases things she's usually panicking too much to bring them back. She doesn't always even notice they're gone. But she feels better than usual, so she should at least try it. She shuts her eyes.

When she opens them, the flower is back. It looks all right. It's white.

"Nothing noticeably spoiled," Loki says. It's almost gentle. "Try again. Same principle. One petal."

Wanda balks. "No. I'll ruin it." It's not the flower, it's the implication of what might happen if it weren't a flower.

"Wanda," Loki starts, and then purses her lips. She tugs a handkerchief out of her coat sleeve. "You won't kill _this,"_ she says. "Now: I want this twice as large. You may loose the weave, or you could make it from more cloth. We really ought to talk with some more scientific minds, concerning how much the world can take before history changes. It must be a fair amount, considering how many of us go around throwing magic and power that has no clear place in the _natural order."_

The relief floods back in again. No one's said such a comforting thing to Wanda about her magic, ever. "I can make it looser," she says, suddenly sure of it. She just has to work harder. Seeing how things are put together is a step she should be willing to take. She takes the handkerchief from Loki's hand and feels it, getting a sense of how it's put together. Then, instead of suddenly being bigger, the fabric stretches slowly until it's the size Loki requested.

Loki is silent for a moment. " _Well,"_ she says. "That's quite the thing."

Wanda isn't used to this kind of response. "It's good," she says, not quite a question.

"Oh yes, I think so," Loki says. "So: let's see what else you can do with it."

~

Loki finally releases Wanda an hour or so before dinner. She waits until Wanda can't find her, drops her smile, and flees to Victor's lab. Victor is building what's eventually going to be the base for a new robot design. The purpose he intends for it is one no one will like, he thinks, but it is worth beginning for the sake of scientific curiosity.

When Loki comes in, Victor stands. "You look distressed, my love." It’s not surprising; Loki has come in looking distressed every day for weeks. Nothing disastrous has happened yet, but Loki always looks as though she thinks it is about to.

"You haven't known me when I was always _careful,"_ Loki says aggrievedly. "I find I do not miss it."

"And how did Wanda's lesson go?" Victor asks, eyebrows raised.

"Well, I suppose," Loki admits. "For the first time. A breakthrough, you’d say. But it's horrible." She drops herself into a chair and scowls at fate.

Victor pats her shoulder gingerly. "Horrible in what sense?"

"It's difficult," she snaps.

"Many things are," Victor says. "What's difficult in particular? Being a teacher? Wanda herself?"

"Either," Loki says. She folds her arms on the table and leans her chin there. "The girl is awfully high strung for someone with so much power, and she's not naturally inclined to discipline. I don't think there's much room to get things wrong."

"One might think you could at least give advice on how to handle power while being a little high strung," Victor says, innocently toying with a screwdriver. But Loki's report confirms his worries about Wanda. “Besides, you’re used to plans that leave no room for error.”

"I don't know what you mean," Loki says dourly.

"Make use of the familiarity," Victor suggests. "Even if your power doesn't quite rival hers."

Loki curls her lip. "I'm leaving," she says, not getting up. "Coming to talk to you is useless."

"Wait," Victor says. "I was only teasing. The wrong time, perhaps. What do you want to do? If you stop, she'll only go on unchecked."

"I won't stop," Loki says, waving a hand. "It will all be fine, Victor, don't worry. It's only difficult to work in someone else's style. And I can't tiptoe around _all_ her sore points, Victor, because she needs to throw them out. She needs to be stronger than they are. It will kill her, otherwise. And them, I suppose."

Victor nods. "I'll admit I'm at a loss. Working with teenage girls isn't really my forte. But you seem to be doing reasonably well so far. She isn't afraid of you." Not that Wanda has reason to be afraid of anything. But she does act skittish.

"Isn't she?" Loki asks, honestly surprised.

Victor shakes his head. "No. Not when you're a woman, at least. I think she's starting to look up to you as much as Pietro does, honestly."

Loki looks hawkish. " _I_ planned for two children. Properly grown up and self-reliant. What have you done?"

"I?" Victor pretends to look wounded. "They simply came to us. I can't be blamed."

"Ugh," Loki says, and then is quiet, letting Victor get back to his puttering if he wants.

Victor waits a moment, then stops fiddling with the screwdriver and turns to his work. "You're doing well with her," he says softly, speaking to his project.

"We'll see," Loki says. "Maybe that will last long enough that I won't ruin her when I do not do so well."

"You won't ruin her," Victor says, still not looking at her. Loki sniffs.

"You're a good mentor," Victor insists.

Loki laughs. "Maybe so," she says, "but it won't sound less ridiculous, no matter how serious you make your voice to say it."

Victor grins and puts his hand on her knee. "I know. I love you." It seems relevant.

Loki relaxes. "We should leave Wanda and Pietro on their own for dinner," she says. "I will be curling up on the hearth. You may bring me a steak."

"I'd be a fool to say no," Victor tells her.


	27. the latverians plan a little holiday for stress relief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “And why do you and Pietro need a vacation?” Loki says sweetly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings: family insecurity, fear of literal erasure, threats of eating people

Victor can say what he likes about Loki’s abilities, but he can’t say they’re without their pressures. There’s only a brief and determined peace before Victor is (to his annoyance) again interrupted at his work. Pietro sticks his head in the door and says, “So. Um. My sister?”

This could be leading anywhere. Victor steels himself for news that she's becoming an atomic bomb.

"Yes?" he prompts.

Pietro frowns. _Maybe_ there’s a polite way to say this.

"I think maybe Loki and Wanda need…a break," he tries.

Victor thinks back to the last interruption he suffered in his lab. "I would agree with that," he says. "It's a stressful business, doing what they're doing."

"Yeah, also they're both kindofintense?" Pietro says. "I mean, you'd know better about Loki, but Wanda's fucking wiped out."

Victor wants to ask if a wiped out Wanda is a dangerous one, but that's not fair. "Loki's been acting...harassed," he concedes. "You think it's not working?"

"Oh, no," Pietro says. "It's definitely working. But--okay, I don't know about Laveria and labor laws or whatever, but I think maybe they need a day off, or they might…getlessgood."

Victor decides not to explain that he makes all the laws here, and that they're, at present, about as unethical as one might imagine. "Very well. I leave it to you to convince them of it, though. Wanda seems every bit as driven as Loki when it comes to pushing herself to complete a challenge."

"Nonono," Pietro says. "No way. You have to help. Do you want them to blow each other up? I can handle Wanda..." Maybe. "...but I'm not _handling_ Loki anywhere.” He grimaces. “I'm not stupid."

Victor laughs. "You have a point. I can try. I'll need something to distract them with. Another venture. Loki won't simply sit by to be rested." He's seen proof of that enough times.

Pietro shrugs. "Doesn't have to be about Loki, right?"

Victor brightens, amused. "That sounds like a nice change," he says.

Pietro says, "You spoil the shit out of everyone you care about at all. Don't even lie. Loki’s just spoiled cause you’re a spoiler."

How embarrassing. "Notwithstanding," Victor says, recovering nicely behind the mask, "I approve of your suggestion. What about Wanda? What does she enjoy?"

There's an awful little pause, and Pietro laughs. "I don't really know," he says. "We didn't used to have a lot of downtime or spare cash."

Victor winces. "I remember what that's like. Perhaps we should find out what she likes, then."

Pietro kicks a table lightly. "Maybe Loki knows. They've been spending enough time together."

Victor sighs. "Does that bother you? For what it's worth, I hardly think Loki about to replace you in Wanda's estimation."

"Of course not. Magneto's already taking up allthespace." Pietro sounds too bitter and doesn't care.

"Magneto is a weakling and an arrogant fool," Victor snaps. "Whatever control he has won't last long." He doesn't bother examining how much of his anger is born of professional pride and how much is born of protectiveness.

Pietro grins at him appreciatively, but it fades fast. "When she's learned enough from Loki to not fuck up her magic, do you think she's gonna go back to Genosha?"

Victor wishes he could say, but Wanda is largely a closed book to him. She's not like any other witch he's met. And he's hardly the expert on teenage girls.

"Ask her," he says.

Pietro makes a noise that could optimistically be called a laugh. 

"Too scared," he says. He turns in a circle, pats the table, and says, "Okay. We're not really the ones who make awesome plans around here. Maybe you could talk to Loki about a...vacation or something? Houseguests? I dunno. Loki always has ideas."

"Loki's ideas," Victor starts, but then he breaks off. No sense making Pietro more worried. "Very well," he says instead, "I'll inquire."

"Gee thanks," Pietro says, but the look he sends Victor on his way out really is grateful. Victor must have missed it, when Pietro adopted them back.

~

That night when they're in bed together, Victor's arm comfortably around Loki, he stops in his slow drawing of patterns on Loki's arm and clears his throat.

"Oh, no," Loki says. "What?" She (much more often _she,_ since Wanda arrived) tenses up like a cat prepared to object strongly to being lifted.

"Nothing dire," Victor promises. "Only that I think everyone could do with a vacation. Something of that sort, anyhow."

" _Do_ you?" Loki says scathingly. Victor doesn't believe in vacations, even if he, rarely, believes in hot soup and long naps for other people. Even if he likes occasionally to travel, he does not like _vacations._

" _We_ do," Victor concedes. "Pietro and I."

“And why do you and Pietro need a vacation?” Loki says sweetly.

“—think that you and Wanda need a vacation,” Victor perseveres, between gritted teeth.

"I don't think--" Loki starts. "Why do we need a vacation, Victor?"

"Wanda is exhausted," Victor says. " _You _are exhausted."__

__"And you two are afraid I'm losing sight of her boiling point. I see," Loki says. She sighs. "What exactly is Pietro worried will happen?"_ _

__"He didn't say." Victor frowns. "Not, I think, the same thing that most other people would be worried about. He's worried about _her_."_ _

__"I think she's all right," Loki says, wriggling neatly out of reach. She props herself up on one elbow. "Just because neither of them has ever been given any discipline whatsoever does not mean she's about to break into little bits. She hasn't even _tried_ to cry at me except right at the beginning."_ _

__"Regardless of Pietro's concerns, I have mine, as well," Victor argues. "I don't want her to snap and unmake the universe."_ _

__"And you think a _family holiday_ with any combination of _us_ is going to make her more stable than staying here and getting herself under better control?" Loki asks. "Victor, my dear, sometimes it's obvious that travels with family are a thing of only your excruciatingly distant past."_ _

__Victor can't exactly recall any family event that wasn't plagued by unease and fear, not that it was the fault of his family._ _

__"Something else, then," he says. "But if you don't stop soon, you'll wear yourself out. You did say you were getting frustrated."_ _

__Loki opens her mouth to argue, but all she says is, "Fine. You're right. We're sick of one another, anyway. You should take the twins somewhere nice, and I'll stay home with the other children like a good mother."_ _

__Not quite how Victor would have put it, and yet... "Agreed," he says, his mind already swarming with ideas._ _

__"Mm," Loki says, rolling over onto her side. And then: "No. I changed my mind. You stay here if you want. Fenrir and Sleipnir and I will go to Jotunheim."_ _

__"What?" Victor says, taken off-guard. "Already?"_ _

__"Why not?" comes over Loki's shoulder._ _

__Victor presses his hand to the small of her back. "Are you ready? It could be difficult. Laufey could be difficult." He knows as he says it that it's probably a foolish concern to voice._ _

__"Laufey won't have any trouble with us," Loki says coldly._ _

__"You don't think I should be worried?" Victor says roughly._ _

__"No."_ _

__Then he'll try not to be. "Just know that if Laufey does anything to hurt you, I'll tear down the walls between the realms."_ _

__"They haven't hurt me before. I don't know why they would now," Loki says. "Anyway, unlike me, they actually _wanted_ their children."_ _

__Victor is quiet for a moment, digesting this. Then he says, "You're doing quite well with them for someone who didn't want them."_ _

__"Yes, I'm wonderful," Loki says lightly. She still hasn't turned around._ _

__"Loki," Victor says._ _

__"I must be doing well," Loki says, "if you so badly want to get them away from me."_ _

__Damn it. "No," Victor says hastily, but it is, of course, too late. "Do you really think I'm not more afraid of Wanda wearing you out or hurting you?"_ _

__"Maybe," Loki says. "You're very taken with her. She's very young."_ _

__He puts his hand on her shoulder. "Very young and very dangerous. As well you know. I don't want to turn around one day and find you written out of existence."_ _

__"You wouldn't know," Loki says pedantically._ _

__Victor's hand tightens and he doesn't say anything. He's been terrified of that._ _

__"Do you think I'll make her so cornered and afraid that she'll unmake me?" Loki asks._ _

__"Loki," Victor says, "I'm not sure she's sane enough to know friend from foe. I've see the look in her eyes when you show up as a man. She's not in control of her own fear."_ _

__Loki is quiet. "You," she says finally. "She's not afraid of you."_ _

__"Oh," Victor says after a second. He didn't know. "I'm sorry," he says, a little irrationally._ _

__Loki sighs and rolls onto her back. "It doesn't matter," she says. "You're right. We're pushing too hard. I just don't like her power hanging around unmanaged any longer than necessary. We'll have a few days off. Maybe we could invite someone who isn't...incendiary...to visit. Maybe we'll all survive until there's a--you really think she's that mad? I truly didn't--" She glances over at Victor, unhappy. "I didn't mean it," she says. "About my children."_ _

__"I know," he says, certain now. He wasn't, a few months ago. "You love things in a complicated way sometimes. But always fiercely." He sighs. "As for Wanda...I don't know. I like her. But she does make me uneasy."_ _

__"If it weren't for Pietro," Loki says, and then stops, because there's always the chance Wanda might be able to hear them. She bites her lip and tries again, something other than, _I wouldn't bother to see her as anything but a threat._ "If it weren't for Pietro I think she might be too ill to learn anything. I can't imagine the last few months have been good to her, without her twin."_ _

__Victor nods. "Agreed. I know it's a bad idea to leave her skills unhoned, but she needs rest." It doesn't matter if Loki is the most patient teacher in the world; Wanda will break if she's pushed too fast. And when she does, he can't even imagine what she'll do._ _

__"All right. A holiday," Loki says. She stretches, and when she rolls over into Victor's arms, she’s already a wolf, shaggy and sarcastic, panting slightly. The wolf scrambles up, turns in a circle, and lies down heavily on Victor's chest._ _

__Victor, accustomed by now to such sudden changes, simply wraps his arms around the wolf and nuzzles its fur sleepily. "I'm glad you think we had a good talk," he tells it. "Now, perhaps, we can sleep?"_ _

____

~

In the morning, Loki goes outside before bothering with anyone else. He flies over the grass and catches a current upwards. When he finally spots Fenrir and Sleipnir (conversing, he thinks) he swoops back to earth, and trots the rest of the way with his tail waving.

Fenrir's ears prick up, and he lopes over to Loki. "Hello, Mother," he says cheerfully. "I don't think I'll eat Sleipnir."

Sleipnir snorts and says, in essence, _I'd eat the flesh of enemies if it came down to it, so he'd better make sure he doesn't._ Loki says, "Good." He sits down, tail twitching. "What do you think about Pietro's sister?"

Fenrir's tail flicks back and forth. "Don't know," he says after a second. "She comes to me a lot. She's got magic that doesn't smell like mine. Do you need me to eat her?" he asks hopefully.

"No, dear," Loki says. "I wish it were that simple. Think of how Pietro would feel if you ate Wanda."

Fenrir would be the first to admit that imagining other people's feelings isn't his strong suit, but he's very smart. He remembers what a sad Pietro looks like.

"I won't eat her," he agrees.

"Thank you," says Loki. Sleipnir expresses exasperation; no one ever thanks him for not eating people.

"She is very strong," Loki says. "Without trying. It is not safe."

Fenrir hesitates. If his mother doesn't want Wanda eaten...

"Should I talk to her?" he asks. "Or do magic to her? I think I'm getting better at that."

"Perhaps you and Sleipnir could talk to her," Loki suggests. "I'm giving her the day off from learning. Can you show her around your territory? Befriend her a little more? Pietro will come too."

Fenrir is starting to like the idea of new friends, now that he's not chained up. "All right," he says. "She can ride on my back. Or on Sleipnir's." He thinks his back is probably better, though.

"She ought to like that," Loki says thoughtfully. Sleipnir agrees that anyone _ought_ to like being near him and, he supposes, Fenrir.

"I can tell her not to eat up the universe," Fenrir says helpfully. He needs a snack.

Loki's wings twitch. "I'll send breakfast," he says. "Then the twins."

Fenrir opens his mouth to say something _hungry _, but stops. "Hurry up. Sleipnir's getting boring."__

__Sleipnir puffs out an aggravated breath and Loki ruffles his feathers, laughing. "I will hurry," he says, and flies off as fast as he can._ _

__Fenrir decides to race Sleipnir until the food and the twins arrive. He'll lose, but he's getting faster._ _


	28. fenrir is a good pup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The All-Father takes enough notice of his children to make sure no one else will," Fenrir snaps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: disclosure of past rape/incest, mention of eating people

"So we found out that this guy I'd been talking to was one of Tony's enemies in disguise," Pietro says to Wanda, lugging the picnic basket with a little more trouble than he likes to admit. "So, Loki took Fenrir back to New York, and they all beat this guy down, and then Fenrir ate him. It was _awesome."_

Wanda wrinkles her nose. "That's kind of gross and creepy. The eating him part."

Pietro shrugs, a little lost. At the time it hadn't seemed as nightmarish as everything that had happened leading up to it.

"It—it wasn’t so bad if you knew the guy," he says.

"That's not what I meant," Wanda says. She knows all about wanting people gone. She just doesn't like blood. "Sorry. I'm glad he's gone."

"He was just a big ball of energy anyway," Pietro says, looking away. "Big evil ball of--oh, there they are." He waves, Sleipnir comes into view. Wanda has seen both of Loki's children several times since coming here, but Sleipnir has never come towards her like this. He's _tall._

"So many legs," Wanda says, feeling stupid. She doesn't know if she'll ever get used to it. "Hi. Your mane looks nice today."

"Heylook, you found his vanity," Pietro says as Sleipnir tosses his mane.

"My mother spoils him," Fenrir says loftily. Sleipnir snort and treads on Fenrir's paw before dancing away eight-leggedly. 

"Spoils you at _least_ as much," Pietro says. Wanda still can't imagine Loki as a parent. She can't really imagine Fenrir and Sleipnir as anyone's children, either.

Fenrir's grins with all his teeth. "She finally brought me home. That's why." He flicks his ears back and forth. "Guilty. That's why, too."

"About the island thing?" Pietro says. "I guess you'd have to be a real shithead not to feel guilty about that." 

Fenrir's tail thumps against the ground, and he keeps talking as though Pietro hasn’t spoken. "Not angry at Mother," he says. "Not anymore, at least. "Not angry at my Uncle Tyr, either, even though they couldn't have done it to me without him."

Pietro hesitates. He recognizes the cue—but he hasn't asked how Fenrir ended up chained alone on a rock for most of his life, and he hasn’t _wanted_ to ask. He almost doesn't now, just because he can see Fenrir waiting to pounce on it, and he doesn't want there to be something bad on the other side.

But Fenrir is all tensed up, his tail low, and Pietro is trying to be his friend. 

"Loki said it was the king who had you locked up," Pietro says. "Loki’s dad."

Yes," Fenrir growls. "Everyone's dad. The All-Father." Humans are supposed to be good with words.

"Who only every takes notice of you to fuck up your life?" Pietro says. "Sounds like all fathers to me." He nearly feels bad, but he's growing anxious, too anxious to shut up. Beside him, Wanda is frowning and quiet.

"The All-Father takes enough notice of his children to make sure no one else will," Fenrir snaps. He digs at the ground with his paw. "Odin is even more like a storm than Thor," he says. "He lashes out, and once he's finished, he buries what he's done and is calm again." He pauses. "He would chain us all to rocks on islands if he could."

Pietro says, “I don’t—are you--?” Sleipnir scrapes the ground with several of his hooves and blows a discontented huff of air through his lips. Wanda's knuckles are white, but Fenrir is too angry to care. It feels good, being vicious. He doesn't feel like being anyone's friend, right now.

"Gods are bad at keeping secrets," he says bitterly. "Right there in his title. All-Father. Only no one believes it. Did you know he's the god of beasts like me?" Fenrir is huge and sharp, and Wanda is nearly rigid. 

"Wolves?" Pietro stutters. "I, yeah, I think I--read that."

Fenrir, miserable and wild, is almost enjoying this. "You must have known Sleipnir was only my half brother. His father is a stallion. Mine is a wolf."

Wanda's breath hisses through her teeth, all rage.

"Oh," Pietro says. The word half-falls out of his mouth, on the tail end of a breath.

"My mother would never tell you this," Fenrir says, settling back on his haunches. "I do understand that. But I don't care. It's just true."

"There's, there's really nowhere you can go that's not full of fucking evil people, huh?" Pietro says quietly.

Fenrir remembers himself, and the viciousness subsides a little. He gets up and pads over to Pietro, nudging him with his nose. "No. That's why we have _good_ wolves. To bite back. Remember?"

Pietro grins.

“Don’t worry,” he says. “I’m grateful.” He glances at Wanda, and then leans forward to whisper into Fenrir’s ear.

"Don't tell," he says. "About Ezekiel. Please." He puts his hand on Fenrir's nose. "Also, from personal experience? Sharing some asshole's DNA doesn't make them your family, okay?" He leans back. "Your father might be and evil dick, but you've got people on your side for real. Loki does, too. They're the ones who count."

Fenrir doesn't know what to say for a second. He didn't expect reassurance, of all things.

He waits until he hears Wanda take a breath. Then he says, "This family is good."

Pietro laughs, like a little hiccup. 

"I'm pretty sure Loki sent us all on this play date to be better siblings,” he says. “So..."

Fenrir wags his head. "Instead we're just bad children," he says, clearly meaning himself. "Didn't mean to gossip. Just wanted to--" He snaps at the air instead of finishing. He doesn't know what he wanted. Wanda still won't say anything.

"Hey," Pietro says nicely, patting Fenrir's muzzle. "Exactly how many people have you got to vent this shit to? How many years have you been sitting on 'my family is wicked fucked up'? Repressing is _not_ better. It just comes out wrong later on." _Trust me,_ he wants to say, but not with Wanda standing right there. He’s already said enough like that.

Fenrir wants to say that he's not like a human, that he doesn't need--But the lie isn't even worth it. He nuzzles Pietro's hand, watching Wanda.

"It's a good thing Odin's not here," Wanda says in a flat voice.

Pietro glances anxiously back at her, still stroking Fenrir's nose.

"You couldn't do anything to him anyway," Pietro says. "Not without changing too much or getting Loki and Fenrir into trouble."

Wanda opens and shuts her mouth. "Fine," she mutters. "I know that."

Fenrir licks Pietro's hand, worried.

"Hey," says Pietro. "We can have our lunch, right? Wanna have lunch? We dragged it all the way out here."

"All right," Wanda says.

"Lunch," Fenrir agrees, although he doubts there's a giant, juicy rabbit or deer or human in that basket.

"All right," Pietro says with relief. Everything under the surface is still vicious with motion. He’s realizing why it took so long to get Fenrir back from the island. He’s realizing why Loki was so quick to hunt down Ezekiel, and why Loki looked so sick and so furious when Logan suggested he might take advantage of Pietro. 

Really, Pietro thinks, Fenrir's luck has fucking well changed. Because Loki being an asshole sometimes can't hide the truth, which is that she's a really good person, and Pietro is pretty sure she’d would do anything to protect Fenrir now that she has him back.

He already knows what Loki would do to protect _him._

Fenrir flops on the ground while they eat, the bulk of him behind Wanda and Pietro, so they can lean, although Wanda doesn't. She's still all tensed up. Fenrir doesn't mind, though. Whatever she's feeling, he's felt it, and they're all on the same side.

Eventually Wanda relaxes enough to smile at Pietro, a real smile, one he'll believe. "This food is really good," she says cheerfully.

"Victor helped me," Pietro says gleefully. He snuggles more comfortably against Fenrir's flank. "You should have seen him looking all uncomfortable, being domestic and cute."

Fenrir laughs a low, rumbling laugh. He likes Victor. He doesn't want to eat him as much as he expected to (although, that could be the metal suit). "Yes,” he says. “We're better at it than he is."


	29. wanda has an ally now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It doesn't help," Loki says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: past rape/incest, rape culture, victim blaming/self-blame

Pietro manages to find Victor alone a while before dinner. At least, he _thinks_ it’s alone; he knows better than to assume. Loki might be curled up as a ferret somewhere, or something.

"Hi," he says to Victor's back, while Victor peers at a machine lying in parts on his work table.

Victor feels that he really should start locking his workshop door. He sighs, turns around, and doesn't say _What now?_

"Hello, Pietro," he says.

Victor frowns. "Yes." Loki is elsewhere in the castle, and usually announces himself upon interrupting Victor. Victor takes a closer look at Pietro's face and his frown deepens. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Pietro says. "I mean, nothing new. Just newtome. Is Loki's dad the reason Loki's so nice to me?"

Victor takes a sharp breath. How did Pietro find out--however much he found out? "What do you mean?" he asks carefully.

“Fenrir said Odin is his father, too," Pietro says. "Which I guess I can believe. Loki doesn't give a shit if people know he fucked his brother, it had to be something pretty bad if he won't say where the kids came from."

Victor winces. He _thinks_ Loki would hate for Pietro to know, but he can never be sure, with Loki.

"Fenrir doesn't know how to keep secrets," he says. Assuming Fenrir didn't tell on purpose. He sighs. "What he said is true."

Pietro considers, and says, "But it's not just Loki's secret, is it? It's _Fenrir’s_ dad. It would be pretty shitty to tell him he's being bad just for saying who his father is. That’s like saying that existing at all is his fault."

"You're sticking up for the wolf," Victor says flatly, because he can't think of anything else to say. "I--You're a good friend." He laughs incredulously. "But you must understand that Loki is sick of his personal business being public knowledge. Especially of late."

That’s not entirely fair, since Pietro knows next to nothing about what’s happened, _of late,_ not anything that happened in Asgard.

And it’s not the point. Pietro makes an angry noise, which he doesn't _do_ near Victor. "What, you think I'm gonna go beg for all the details or something? I'm not a complete creep. Why do you think I'm down in this fucking basement talking to you? It's not like _you_ were there."

"Sorry," Victor says, startled into genuine apology. "I'm sorry. Why did you actually come here?"

"To tell you I know," Pietro says, "And I—I wanted to know if that's why Loki was...nice to me. Loki-nice, anyway. I know he w-wanted me before you did."

It's not an easy question to answer, mostly because Victor doesn't _know_. "Every relationship is complicated," he says after a moment. "Just because Loki empathized with you doesn't mean he wouldn't have sympathized with you anyhow. He likes you. As a person. That's nothing to do with his trauma."

Pietro swallows, and then he nods. 

"Okay," he says. "Because I really don't--all my shit is my own fault, like, I was really asking for it. Literally. It's not the same. I don't think Fenrir would be so fucking sad if Loki...if his mom had a choice."

Victor gets to his feet. "Pietro," he says. "If Loki--If _either of us_ \--blamed you, do you think we'd have so much sympathy for you? People get hurt in so many different ways. It doesn't have to be the same for it to be terrible."

Pietro shrugs. "Or you're just really nice," he says, looking away. "Everybody knows it." Mostly. Everyone who knows them.

"We're nice to people who deserve it," Victor says, putting his hand on Pietro’s shoulder.

Pietro shrugs, bony and smiling a little. 

"I wouldn't bug Loki about something like that," he says. "You haven't given me any shit, right? Fair's fair. I just wantedtotalk. Anyway, it was a nice picnic. I think maybe Wanda feels better now, even with the--this."

"What?" Victor says sharply. "Wanda was there?"

"Yeah?" Pietro says.

"Is that...a problem?" Not that Pietro would necessarily know. But he's seen how volatile her reactions are to perfectly neutral things.

"No!" Pietro says. "No, no way. Wanda gets privacy, believe me. She was really upset, but it's fine."

"Mm," Victor says, backtracking. "I was simply concerned that she might be distressed."

"Well no shit she’s upset," Pietro says. "But it's fine."

 _Fine_. Victor sighs. "I see. Well, I'm glad you're both fine."

"Yeah," Pietro says, suddenly a little awkward. "I guess I'm gonna...go take a walk or something. See ya at dinner."

"Take care of yourself," Victor says. "I mean that."

"You know me," Pietro says, which is probably a little too true to be reassuring, but he's gone before Victor can answer.  
Victor sighs and sits down again. Perhaps it's not so terrible, then, that Pietro knows. He's much more worried about Wanda. He has no idea how she'll react, or what she'll do.

~

Wanda doesn't really know why she _should_ feel compelled to go to Loki, and she's almost certain it's inappropriate, but she can't stop herself. It takes her longer than it should to find Loki, because Wanda doesn't want to use her magic. It feels very precariously balanced on the edge of doing something awful and too much.

Eventually she finds him in the back garden, lying in a chair and reading a book, a bowl of berries tucked into his elbow. He doesn't see her arrive.

"How do you choose?" Wanda asks. "Whether you're a man or a woman?"

Loki jumps, and then settles upright as though he planned it, finger holding his place in the book, bowl pushed out of the way behind him. 

"How does Pietro choose?" he asks. "If it seems right, it is." He waves a hand. "And sometimes if one will bother people over another, I choose that."

"It doesn't make me feel safe," Wanda says. "But does it make you feel safer?" It seems important to ask, although it's not why she came here.

Loki gives her something quizzical, halfway to a smile.

"I'm usually safe," he says. "I'm usually more powerful than everyone nearby. Not so with you, of course."

"It doesn't matter, though, does it?" Wanda says, frustrated. "Like you said, I'm more powerful than almost anybody, and if some guy's being a creep--and there's _always_ some guy being a creep--it doesn't make any difference to how I feel. Or even what I can do."

Loki frowns. “Wanda,” he says, “may I ask where this is coming from?”

“Fenrir told us where _he_ comes from," Wanda says miserably. "I'm sorry."

"Ah," says Loki. His voice is too steady. "So you are asking whether it's possible to feel safe, or if, once you are stupid enough to become unsafe, you're a victim for the rest of your life."

Wanda nods. "How?" she demands. "How are you supposed to stop people from hurting you, or trying to hurt you, if being as powerful as us doesn't do it? It's not right."

Loki says, "I don't know."

She nods. "Sorry. I hate--" Men, humans, everyone. She doesn't know.

"It doesn't help," Loki says. "Not for me. Not against them. I've been hurt more often in this form than in a woman's. None of my bodies can make me safe, if someone wants to hurt any of them. All I can do with them is wear the one that doesn't make me want to claw myself to pieces. If anyone tries to touch you, Wanda, and it doesn't strip your power from under you, my advice is to kill them. Make the world without them."

Wanda is shaking now, no longer afraid of Loki, because now Loki is someone she understands. "Thank you," she whispers, holding the command in her mind like a knife. She meets Loki's eyes and says steadily, "Thank you for being my friend."

Loki says, "We're too much alike to be anything but close friends or terrible enemies, and I do not think Pietro would be made happy by the latter." His mouth twitches. "Fenrir said this to Pietro as well?"

Wanda nods. "Then Pietro whispered something to him, but I don't know what." It bothers her, not even being able to guess, but it's Pietro's business.

"Mm," Loki says, and sighs. "Well, it's Fenrir's right. Wanda, would you like to travel to another realm?”

"Yes!" Wanda says immediately. She smiles. "Depending on the realm, I guess."

"I was thinking I might take all my children to meet their grandmother," Loki says. "The king, not the queen."

It takes Wanda a second of thinking about what Pietro and Loki have told her, but she says, "Oh, Laufey. Yes! Yes, I'd like that."

Loki smiles, which is startling, because it’s never taken so little to make Loki look pleased with Wanda, not in any body.

"Then we'll go," he says. "Now, any other burning questions?"

Wanda gives him a slightly ashamed little smile. "No, that's all. Thank you. I'll let you eat your berries now."

"Very kind," Loki says. He opens his book and levers himself back into a lounge. "Tell Pietro not to worry about Fenrir," he adds, and then goes back to his book, which is a dismissal, but hardly the nastiest he's ever given Wanda. Wanda leaves, feeling better than when she arrived. Loki is an ally now, and not so much of a stranger.


	30. loki has no sense of pace (but victor understands)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "No you won’t," Victor says steadily. "Or if you do, I'll tell them this: that you feel safe here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: discussion of rape/abuse, rape culture, mental health

Dinner starts quietly. Victor doesn't know what Wanda has been doing. Pietro only knows (from two seconds of conversation before they arrived) that she has, horrifyingly, _talked_ to Loki. Wanda is afraid they'll keep talking about it. She wants it to be over. 

But Loki does too, apparently, because it becomes obvious to everyone, quickly and individually, that he has ended the conversation and moved everyone forward. So dinner picks up momentum, and by dessert everyone feels all right. Loki leaves the table first, wandering off in the middle of a sentence while everyone else is picking at crumbs.

Victor gets to his feet. "Excuse me." With a nod to the twins, he goes after Loki.

"Just a moment, dear," he says, catching up.

Loki obliges him by pausing for a step, and then continues on up to the towers. It's still cold at night, which Loki likes, and looking down over everything with the wind on his face is easy. Painless. What he wants, when he wants an undemanding companion.

Victor follows, silent at first. When they break into the cold air, he says, "Wanda spoke to you?"

"You guessed," Loki says. "How _did_ you guess? Am I getting too easy for you?"

Victor laughs. "Absurd. No, I guessed because you looked like you knew something, and I know Pietro didn't say anything."

"He won't," Loki says. He doesn't think he'll say anything, either. He wants to leave it alone until Pietro forgets that it matters. Until it’s too late for either of the twins to ask anything else. 

"She caught me on the raw," he says. "But I suppose they were bound to find out something eventually."

"Was it all right?" Victor asks. "I imagine you're tired of talking about it, and I don't even know how Wanda would approach it..." He still likes Wanda, still thinks she might be useful, but she worries him, for many reasons.

"Oh, spare sparing my delicate feelings, Victor," Loki says. "All she wanted to know was if I'm the kind of man you have to be afraid of or the kind of woman you're afraid _with."_

Victor suddenly realizes he has no place in this conversation, but he still asks, "What did she decide?"

Loki turns and gestures to himself, looking pointedly at Victor.

"I wondered," Victor says, nodding. He pauses, looking out into the night. "Are you still leaving them with me and going to Jotunheim with your children?"

"I said I would take them all," Loki says shortly. "I rather not go anywhere."

"You should," Victor says. "You _should_ bring them all. Everyone could use a holiday, and the twins want to stay near you."

"They like you fine," Loki says. "You could go, if they need _airing out."_

"They need someone who understands them," Victor snaps. "They may like me, but what can I offer them? They're spent their whole lives being afraid, and I barely remember what fear feels like."

Loki flinches. "Good. Yes. Of course I know everything about being afraid. I can tell them--there's nothing you can do, nothing ever changes, once someone's caught you, you can feel their hands on you for the rest of your life. It never goes away and there's always a next time. I'll tell Pietro that. I'll tell Wanda she's too late."

"No you won’t," Victor says steadily. "Or if you do, I'll tell them this: that you feel safe here. That you look at me and walk through our home and look over our land and feel _safe_. Perhaps not every day, but most days. And you feel safe with the Avengers, in that fool Stark's lab and Barton's target range. That's true, too."

Loki is quiet for a long moment. 

"Not today," he says carefully. He sniffs, and adds, "I _did_ ask Wanda if she wanted to meet Laufey. She said yes. I suppose we'll go."

"Let me hold you," Victor says, "and we'll speak no more of it."

Loki doesn't answer at all this time, just keeps staring out over the parapet as if Victor hasn't said anything.

Victor puts his hand on Loki's arm. "What can I do?"

"I don't know," Loki says. His voice hurts. He looks at Victor, which is a mistake. He says, "At least Wanda trusts me, now that my father raped me. That's terribly convenient." He can feel himself begging, but he doesn't know what he's begging for and he doesn't know how to beg so Victor sees.

"You trust each other," Victor says. "Enough, at least, for now. Come here." He doesn't wait for Loki to move. He steps into Loki's space and tugs him close, wrapping his cloak around both of them.

Loki clings to him. "It's that they'll never stop seeing it," he explains, burying his eyes against Victor's cloak. "And that I can--it doesn't matter how much talk there is, sometimes it's just..." Sharper. Brighter. He can remember everything.

Victor knows there are people one can talk to, places one can go, but he'll suggest that later. For now, he holds Loki tighter. "Just let it be that, then," he says. "Until it ebbs. I'm here."

"I hate being weak," Loki says, muffled.

"I know," Victor says. "So do I. Perhaps more than most. But we all are, from time to time, and there's little to be done but wait.” He catches Loki’s chin. “My dear, you have hardly had time to catch your breath since all of this came out. Do you realize that? It was only six months ago that Thor started his prying. "

Loki opens his mouth and shuts it again. 

“No one could ask you to be _cured_ in that time,” Victor says firmly. “Or ever. But it’s barely been any time, for you.”

Loki sighs, still clinging. "I don't know how people talk to one another and mean it," he says. "There are so many of you, all of a sudden. There wasn't anyone, before, even though Thor tried, and now there are a lot of you and you're _very_ noisy. Nothing is private. I'll go mad again soon."

"Pietro won't ask, I don't think," Victor says. "Nor will I. And I think Wanda is done with asking." He pauses, stroking Loki's back. "Perhaps Stark could tell you what it's like having everyone know nasty things about you. He seems to have found a way to live with it. Taking advice from mortals might suit you."

"Unkind, Victor," Loki sighs. "Will you take me to bed, or do you prefer your late-night vigils on the roof?"

"Rarely," Victor said, relieved. Loki has swung back around into something Victor can hold. "Come to bed, then."

He takes Loki firmly by the shoulders and steers him back in from the cold.

"Every time," Loki murmurs as they step inside.

Victor, his arm now securely around Loki's waist, makes an inquiring noise.

"I came here after I attacked Dr. Banner,” Loki reminds him. “And other times.”

"How could I forget?" Victor says. "You cried and ate apples. Many apples."

"I _stopped,"_ Loki says. He turns on his toe, back to Victor. "I always do. I carry on, but you never let me for long. You're so _interfering."_

Victor laughs and brushes Loki's cheek. "So I'm told. Let me interfere further by keeping myself close by all night."

"And tomorrow we can all go to Jotunheim," Loki says.


	31. fenrir sees how it is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I've always known what you were doing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: past rape, bad parents, bad things happening to parents, threats to eat people

Loki goes out to Sleipnir's stable before anyone else has roused themselves, and gently wakes him up for a grooming.

"You should look fine for your grandparent," he says sternly, when Sleipnir rolls his eyes and tries to go back to sleep.

Loki hasn't been there long when Fenrir slinks in, tired and quiet. He's too large to go unnoticed for long, though. He gives a half-hearted _wuf_ to let Loki know he's there.

Loki turns, pausing with the curry-comb still resting against Sleipnir's hide.

"You're awake early," he says. Sleipnir snorts.

"I sleep when I want," Fenrir says, a little grumpily. In truth, he hasn't slept. "Are you well, Mother?"

Loki's eyes narrow, and he pauses before he answers.

"Oh, I see," he says. He turns back to Sleipnir. "You had every right."

Fenrir cringes, large enough to be seen in Loki's field of vision. In the pale light of morning, he feels terrible, even though he believes that Loki's right. "Did I cause you trouble?" he asks, none of his frequent vindictiveness in his voice.

"No," Loki says. "You didn't cause anything. I think you made Wanda trust me."

"Humans are horrible beasts," Fenrir says, but without much venom. He mostly doesn't understand them. "You aren't angry?"

"Of course I am," Loki says smoothly. "Not at you, however."

Fenrir is silent for a moment. Then he sits, folding his front paws neatly in front of him. He nudges Loki with his nose.

Loki looks down, and then stoops to pet his head. He stills after a few seconds, though.

"How do you know?" he says. "How do you know your father is Odin? Who ever told you?"

"Told?" Fenrir asks, momentarily perplexed. "No one told me. They were all too ashamed or afraid."

Loki shakes his head once, like he’s trying to chase a fly out of his ear.

“Then what?”

"I saw," Fenrir says. "From you."

Loki sets down the currycomb and comes around to Fenrir's other side.

"Magic?" he asks.

"Oh," Fenrir says dismissively, "I suppose it must be. I've always known what you were doing."

There's a long pause, and Loki says, "Oh."

Fenrir nudges Loki again, anxious. "Mother?"

Loki leans away, against the stable wall, his hands pressed against the bare wood. 

"How-- _much?"_ he asks. His voice is wrong.

Fenrir can tell he's done something wrong, but as usual, it's going to take him some time to figure out what it is. He's tired, and he's not fully in touch with anyone not _himself_ right now.

"Not everything," he says. "But I can feel it. I can know it."

"You saw me fall?" Loki asks, his voice shaking.

Fenrir gets to his feet. "No," he lies. "No, I--I should go." He hates feeling as though he understands people enough to care about how to interact with them.

Loki's hand shoots out and he catches Fenrir by the ruff.

"And Balder," he says. "All of that."

Fenrir's eyes blaze, and now he cannot lie. "If Lord Balder ever comes within my reach, frozen though he is, I'll devour him," he snaps.

Loki lets him go, and strokes his nose. 

"You deserve so much better than you have," he says.

Fenrir is truly lost now. "I don't understand you," he says, nosing into Loki's hand. "Not at all. I could see all that, but I don't..."

"I made everything so very much worse," Loki says, "thinking I was alone. But only you were alone, and I never came for you."

"I already forgave you," Fenrir says uncomfortably. How could he feel Loki that whole time and _not_ forgive?

Loki buries his face in Fenrir's fur. What can he possibly say to a pup who won't blame him, whom he left alone and hurt for hundreds of years? Who _watched_ his mother be--? Who watched his mother go mad and leave him for another world completely. His apology is trapped against his teeth, and he feels like he'll be sick if he lets it out.

Fenrir makes a sad little yipping sound and tries to wrap his paw around Loki. "You see? I can feel that. It’s right here. It's horrible."

Loki laughs, and gets fur in his mouth.

"Yes, it would be," he says. "I myself don't like feeling like myself most of the time."

"But he makes you happy," Fenrir says. "Victor." He means more than _happy_. He means _not like this._

"Yes, but that's not the point," Loki says. "Is it? I didn't--I didn't know that I was letting all of that happen to _you._ As if the island weren't enough." He blinks. "I only knew I abandoned you."

Fenrir becomes a snarling ball of fur, backing away from Loki quickly. "Didn't," he snaps. "Didn't let it happen. Didn't _let_ any of it. Not you."

Sleipnir whirls around in his stall, suddenly out of patience for this whole exchange, and stomps several of his heavy feet centimeters from Fenrir's paws. He punctuates it with an angry whinny, lashing his tail.

Fenrir rears up on his hind legs, growling. "Stupid horse!" he shouts.

That's not a smart choice, and Sleipnir very nearly kicks Fenrir in the jaw before Loki grabs them both out of the air and sets them down roughly on opposite sides of the stable.

"That's _enough_ of that," he says sharply.

"Hate this," Fenrir says sullenly, settling down. "Is this the family we're going to proudly present to Laufey?"

Loki doesn't answer, only stands there between them with his hand over his eyes.

Fenrir takes a few tentative steps toward Sleipnir. "Don't kick me," he says. "And I won't yell. What about that?"

Sleipnir agrees, and then sidles, worried about their mother. Fenrir goes to Loki's other side and puts his nose under Loki's hand. "We didn't forgive you because we're _stupid_ ," he tells Loki.

Loki is imagining, more and more clearly, Fenrir on his little island, feeling Loki fall to every terrible thing, learning that there is no escape unless you die and start again. 

"No," he says. "You're only very good. I'm sure Laufey will be stunned by you. Only a fool wouldn't be won over, and Laufey isn't a fool."

He tries to calm himself as he speaks, because Fenrir can see through him, and that is awful.

Fenrir leans heavily on Loki.

"It's all right to be unhappy," he says. "I'm always hungry and angry, and you can feel that. Not with magic, but you can." Fenrir can't quite connect what he means with what he's saying. He's not always hungry and angry anymore. But it's all right when he is, and when it hurts other people to see.

Really being a parent is too new, and not yet earned, and still Loki can feel it right down to his gut. He feels it straight through, and Fenrir makes it so hard to be anything but animal-honest.

"But you're the children," he says. "I'm supposed to have protected you."

"I'm a giant wolf," Fenrir says flatly. "We can protect each other." He eyes Sleipnir's sharp hooves. "All of us."

That's not entirely what Loki means, and it's not entirely sufficient, but there's not time to push, and it wouldn't help anyway.

"Well, regardless of my failings," Loki says, "you've both grown up terribly capable. I'm sure we'd do well in Jotunheim even if Laufey didn't want us."

Sleipnir snorts, reminding them that he _has_ done well in Jotunheim, thank you.

Fenrir nods, happy again. Jotunheim is cold, and he likes cold. He wonders if he'll like Laufey. "Sleipnir has to promise to be careful with his feet," he says, licking Loki's hand.

"Sleipnir's kept his feet in Jotunheim before," Loki says.

Fenrir sighs and flops down on the ground. "Then I have some catching up to do," he says to mask his worry about the unfamiliar realm he's about to be plunged into.

"Never you mind," Loki says. "You could be Wanda."

Fenrir doesn't say anything mean, because Wanda isn't here to defend herself, making it not worth the effort. Besides, he likes Pietro, and Wanda scratched his fur.

"We're all tougher than we look," he says, trying to sound cheerful.

"You are very strong," Loki murmurs. He is afraid, suddenly, to feel as terrible as he feels, because he doesn't want to hurt Fenrir. He wonders how Fenrir can possibly be proud of his mother. He wonders if Fenrir has felt it when Loki didn't want him at all.

Fenrir leans up against Loki. "And now we have other strength on our side." He's never had much understanding of politics, but Odin is asleep and Frigga and Laufey are stirring.

Loki takes a fistful of Fenrir's fur and kisses him on his giant brow.

"My dear," he says. "We aren't even at war."

"War sounds all right," Fenrir mumbles, relieved. He seems to have helped things settle back down somehow.

Loki strokes his head. "How like your Uncle Tyr for you to say so," he says. "And I daresay your brother feels the same way. But no one is hunting us, little Fenrir. We can ask for more than _survival_."

It's jarring, being called "little," but coming from Loki, it sounds right. Fenrir is quiet for a moment, forgetting that he should probably answer with words. When he does remember, he says, "Good wolf," still not quite there. He butts Loki with his nose to bring the compliment home.

"Quite right," Loki says, and pats his muzzle to show he means Fenrir. "Now--if those are all the embarrassing revelations of the morning, I ought to finish currying your older brother so he can shine well in Jotunheim."

"No one curries me," Fenrir says, somewhere between proud and resentful. He fluffs up his shaggy fur to prove it. "I'm going to find some breakfast," he says.

Loki laughs and waves him off, making a mental note to find Pietro a dog brush big enough to be worth the bother.

Fenrir pads out, waving his tail at Sleipnir and feeling better about the impending trip. He hopes Laufey is friendly enough. They're probably too large to eat.


	32. loki and her children go to grandmother's house

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Did you just literally have something up your sleeve?" Pietro asks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: none

The morning is chilly and wet, which is not the best precursor to _cold_. Everyone is huddled in Sleipnir's stable, except for Fenrir, who is sitting outside, obstinately shaking water out of his fur. The twins are wrapped up in furs, and Sleipnir has two thick blankets strapped around his barrel.

"So," says Loki, adjusting her cloak, "We'll go straight there.” 

"Does Laufey know we're coming?" Wanda asks.

"They know," Loki says, waving her other hand. "Any more questions?"

Wanda shakes her head.

"Don't stay away too long," Victor says. He sounds calm, but Wanda thinks he's probably not. "I'll worry."

"We won't," Loki says. "Only a visit. You know, the sort I make Thor. Not their sort." He gestures to the twins.

Victor coughs. "Indeed. Well, should you need me..." He casually tosses Loki a small device. "This ought to work across the realms," he says, not looking at Loki. "I only tested it using information I gained in Asgard, but the principle should serve into Jotunheim. If you need to contact me."

" _Hmm,"_ Loki says, and tugs him into a kiss, Victor's gift held tight in her fist.

When she pulls away, she gestures for the children to draw close. "Off we go," she says.

Wanda grabs Pietro's hand. Fenrir pads over to lean against Sleipnir. Loki puts her hands on Sleipnir and Pietro's shoulders, and then they all vanish from Latveria. A few seconds later they reappear in deep snow, and dark skies, and their winter gear feels much more appropriate. 

Pietro is good at keeping his feet, now, but Wanda wobbles, and Fenrir flounders and barks once. Sleipnir, is smugly steady on the stone path.

" _There’s_ room for you to run," Loki says. "Though I think you and Sleipnir had best stay near me until we have seen Laufey." Odin's mount especially might be poorly received.

Fenrir glances at Sleipnir and immediately stops backing up. "I'm coming," he says quickly.

"Brave pup," Loki says. “All right. Here we go.”

Laufey is aware that someone has entered their kingdom, and this time, they can easily guess who. Loki has been traveling between the realms much more often and openly now.

What they do not expect, however, is what their guards bring into their throne room.

Laufey stands. "Greetings, my child.” They frown. “The wolf and the steed are no great mystery, but I must inquire about the mortal children.” 

Loki puts on a particularly catty smile. 

"I've collected more," she says. "These are Pietro and Wanda. Pietro and I have become well-acquainted; Wanda is a witch in need of some instruction. Twins, this is Laufey, sovereign of Jotunheim, who is also my mother."

"IthoughtFriggahhhh," says Pietro, biting his lips before anything even stupider can come out. Sleipnir laughs and noses him.

"You're very small, even for a human," Laufey says gravely to the curious little creature. "I had no idea I would have this many grandchildren. But--they're not _quite_ human, are they?"

"We're mutants," Wanda says defensively.

"Some of humankind have changed since you were there last," Loki says. "Many of them exhibit powers. Wanda's magic is hers; Pietro is more than a match for Sleipnir in a footrace. Unsurprisingly, they have a frequent need for sanctuary."

"Jotunheim will be safe for them, if a little cold," Laufey says. "Come and sit. We should go somewhere more comfortable." They glance at Fenrir, sizing him up. He looks every bit as dangerous as he should.

"I don't think I want to sit," Pietro says. "My skinny ass will freeze right off."

Laufey smiles. "I like you. Perhaps your sibling's magic can do something about that."

"Is that allowed?" Wanda asks. "Can I warm up a room or something?"

Laufey nods. "You and Loki could probably manage something together." They don't want anyone melting bits of their palace, but they do want to make their guests feel at home.

"Think small," Loki says. "Make your furs work better."

"Yes fucking please," Pietro says encouragingly.

Wanda nods and bites her lip, concentrating. She wonders if maybe her magic will work differently in Jotunheim, but when she closes her eyes and focuses on the furs, she feels them warming up.

"Good?" she asks.

"Awesome," says Pietro.

Wanda grins. "Thanks."

Laufey looks at Loki thoughtfully. "I see why you brought them here."

"It seemed unfair to Victor to leave the whole mess of them behind," Loki says disingenuously. "Fenrir, will you say hello?"

Fenrir growls, low and threatening. Laufey is bigger than him, and he can't remember words for a minute.

"We finally meet," Laufey says softly.

Sleipnir flicks his ears and then snorts something that only Fenrir can possibly understand, adjusting his weight on his hooves like a caterpillar without any apparent distress.

Fenrir lays his ears flat and _woofs_. Then he straightens up and says, "You're smaller than I expected. Well met. I don't want to eat you."

Laufey laughs in surprise. "I'm glad. I doubt I'd make much of a meal."

Sleipnir sniffs his approval, and Pietro says, "You'd be surprised what he'll eat."

"And will you surprise me, young mutant?" Laufey asks.

Pietro gets a little smaller, which makes him even more noticeably the smallest person present. 

"Idunno," he says. "Dependswhatyouexpect, I guess."

"I haven't seen a human, or anything like one, in a very long time," Laufey says. They sit, so as not to tower over their guests. "What do you hope to gain from your visit here?" They sound curious, not accusing.

Pietro can't think of a single thing to say, for several seconds, and then everything he can think of is embarrassing. He says part of it anyway, before he can think better of it.

"I just wanted to make Loki happy," he says. "Plus going to another world and meeting a king is really fucking cool?"  
Laufey doesn't laugh. They just nod, thinking about it. "That's a noble endeavor. I'm glad to meet you, too."

Pietro nods and sneaks a glance at Loki; she is looking lemonish. Pietro blushes. "Qwe’er," he mutters.

Before attention can fall too much away from him, Sleipnir whinnies. He wants to know what Laufey thinks of him when Odin isn't on his back.

Laufey turns to him. "And you," he says. "You I have seen not long ago. But I much prefer you now. I trust you are surefooted enough to run even on the icy slopes of Jotunheim's mountains? If so, you are welcome."

Sleipnir is pleased enough with that. It's respectful, which is owed to the steed of the king of the gods, and to the son of a prince and the king of stallions. He tosses his mane and trots up and around the ice they're standing on, showing off his surefootedness.

Laufey shakes their head and smiles at Loki. "If you wished to prove that my grandchildren are worthy creatures, you succeeded. But what of your mortal love? Where are they?"

"At home," Loki says acerbically. "We were giving him a headache."

"He looked like he was ready to start missing you as soon as you left," Wanda says hurriedly, blushing.

Laufey tilts their head. "I can feel your power from here, mortal child," they say.

Loki says, "I _know_. It's a problem. I'm doing my best to teach her how to use it, but it's certainly not how I use magic, nor anyone I know."

"She's working really hard, though," Pietro adds.

Laufey shakes their head, looking at Wanda thoughtfully. "I could try to help, but I don't understand the way any of you look at magic. You treat it as something separate from...well, from anything else. We don't."

Loki nearly argues, but even if it's not as true as Laufey thinks, it's been true in effect. Loki only ever used magic like breathing before getting old enough to know people _didn't_.

"I suppose that's true," she says.

"No, it's not," Pietro says. "Just because you say so and you're trying to tell Wanda it's like that doesn't mean _she's_ like that. She does magic all the time. Fenrir, too."

"Fenrir?" Laufey says, surprised. "Really?"

"Yes, really," Fenrir says, drawing himself up proudly. "Why not? My mother is the best at magic."

Loki by now is looking nonplussed and a little embarrassed. 

"Of course you're right," she tells Pietro. "I didn't even notice--Fenrir, what do you do? Aside from what you told me earlier."

"Things," Fenrir says stubbornly. "This. Talking to you. I'm not like any wolf you know, am I? I do everything because I _am_ magic."

"Of course," Loki says. She glares at Pietro, who jumps. "How did _you_ know?" she asks.

Pietro shrugs.

"Pays attention," Fenrir says approvingly. "Why?" He wants to know why he's important.

"Normally I pay attention as well," Loki mutters. "What's important is that you and Laufey probably handle magic more like Wanda does than I ever could. Either of you would probably be at least as much help as I am in teaching her how to manage herself."

" _Me?_ " Fenrir demands.

Wanda smiles. "I'd like you to teach me. You make things simple."

Loki raises her eyebrows to say, _See?_

"So you brought her here because you didn't know how to help her," Laufey says. "And what about her sibling?"

"No," says Loki, "I--"

"You can't bring Wanda places without me," Pietro says. "Doesn't work."

Laufey nods. "Good. I'm glad you're here. You're not much like the humans I remember." They gracefully leave out the bit where they were mostly killing those humans.

"We take more baths now," Pietro says.

"You certainly are a clean little...creature," Laufey says. "How did you come to be one of Loki's pack?"

Pietro checks with Loki, but he doesn't see any immediate signs to please keep his mouth shut. 

"I work with some of Loki's friends," he says. "Loki wanted someone to be friends with Sleipnir. I'm really fucking fast. So, then we hung out." He thinks he would tell Laufey the complete, exact truth, for Loki's sake especially, if it weren't for Wanda standing here.

Laufey accepts the story for what it is, something much tidier than anything in Loki's life tends to be. "All of you combined could be very powerful indeed. I'm glad you've found one another." They hope that the message comes across: power means safety.

"I only keep the useful ones," Loki says smugly. "The rest I leave in New York." Then she jumps, and the smug expression drops off her face. She reaches her hand into the sleeve of her coat, and a moment later, pulls out the small device Victor gave her before they left.

"Did you just literally have something up your sleeve?" Pietro asks. "That's great."

Loki prods the device a couple of times, and then Victor's voice comes pouring out.

"Loki," he says, his voice tight, "you and the twins need to get back here now. We've had some unexpected guests, and they're come with some disturbing news. I–did not invite them. Hurry home, please."

"I'd meant us to stay a little longer," Loki answers, irritated.

“It’s Hank Pym and Black Panther,” Victor says. 

“I can’t think why I’d want to come back to that,” Loki says.

"Latveria was gone." Victor's voice is clipped. "Until you left this realm."

Wanda covers her mouth, horrified. "What?"

Loki is silent, on the edge of speaking, for several seconds. 

"We haven't heard much from the outside world lately, have we?" she says.

"Nothing," Victor says. "Not since shortly after you brought the twins, nothing."

"All right,” Loki says. “We'll come home. Give us a few minutes. I think I’ll speak to Heimdall en route.”

“Please do so quickly,” Victor says. Then he breaks the connection.

Loki blinks at the device. "Oh dear," she says. Then she looks up. "You did not know?" she asks Laufey.

"No," Laufey says. "And no one who might have wondered has thought to speak to me." 

"Ever-charming Asgardians," Loki says. "Wanda, Pietro, we're going. Sleipnir and Fenrir, you are welcome to stay if Laufey allows you; I am sure Heimdall will send you home if he can, but, on the other hand, I cannot promise there will be anywhere for him to send you."

"Home," Fenrir says quickly, trotting over to Loki. He tilts his shaggy head toward Laufey. "I like your palace, but I don't want to risk being trapped here."

"Understood," Laufey says. They're watching Wanda. "Go home. I'll gladly welcome you again when this is...dealt with."

Loki smiles, slightly, then glances up at the sky. "Heimdall," she says. "I hope you're minding."


	33. latverians are neither here nor there

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She would like Wanda not to cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: none

Heimdall must be worried too, because the Bifrost opens unusually quickly. 

“Whoa,” Wanda whispers when they arrive. But there’s no time to marvel, and they’re all too skittish, anyway. Fenrir shrinks down and leans against Loki. It’s bad enough something is happening at home. He hates to be so close to his prison.

The corner of Heimdall's mouth twitches. "Welcome, Loki," he says. Despite the almost-smile, he looks wary. “I have not seen you in many days.”

“Yes, so I hear,” Loki says swiftly. “I came to ask you whether you knew what had happened, or whether you’ve only been watching the chaos from up here the whole time.”

“Your witch,” Heimdall says.

“Yes, mine,” Loki says impatiently, and Wanda blushes in surprise. “What of her?”

“I have not been--able to look for you,” Heimdall says, and it’s clear that he is a little angry with bewilderment. “And no one in Midgard has found passage to your lands.”

Loki eyes Wanda, but addresses Heimdall. “Why didn’t you contact me as soon as we arrived in Jotunheim, if you have been seeking us?”

“I knew then that you’d come here soon enough,” Heimdall says. “Better to make good of your visit.”

Loki smiles. “Guilt or kindness?” she asks, but brushes it aside before Heimdall is forced to answer. “We should return to Latveria, then. I am afraid to think what else may have happened with the children missing. I hope Thor has not done anything stupid, either.”

“Your guests will tell you,” Heimdall says. 

"I'm sure you know."

“I do," Heimdall says. "Good luck to you, Loki and children of Loki.”

Wanda looks at Pietro, to say, _He doesn’t mean me, does he?_ and Pietro smiles anxiously back. Of course he means Wanda.

Then the light comes up and the wind howls around them, and they are skidding on the snow of Midgard.

~

Loki returns with her brood to Fenrir and Sleipnir's grounds. She doesn't know where Victor and their guests are, but that can easily be discovered.

"Stay with me, please," she commands when they arrive. "Let us see what our troubles are." She turns to Pietro. "Can you locate them?"

"Sure thing," says Pietro, distracted for a second by Wanda's expression. "I'll, I'll berightback." He zips off, afraid of what will happen if he finds them and they make Wanda look worse.

Wanda is tensed up and unable to stop digging her nails into her palms. She feels like she's already in trouble, although she's not sure what she did.

"I'll devour them whole," Fenrir says darkly, glancing toward the castle and stalking a circle at Loki’s side. He looks very sincere.

"As much as I'm sure you'd like to, my dear," Loki says, "please curb your appetites until we can find you something more suitable. And find out what it is that has them so angry."

~

Pietro finds them at the front gate of the castle, Victor looking magisterial in his mask—which means anxious and annoyed—and Hank and Black Panther crossing their arms right back. 

“Here you are!” Hank says. “Thank goodness!”

“Yeah,” Pietro says a little dumbly. “We’re in the back yard.”

“Is Wanda with you?” T’Challa asks. “It is of vital importance that we see her as soon as possible.”

"You've said," Victor snaps. He's clearly been doing this for some time.

“I have to go get them,” Pietro says. “One sec.” He runs back to the others, and says, “Castle gate, back!”

“Excellent,” Loki says. "Ready?" She grabs him, and zaps them all there.

“Brilliant magic!” T’Challa says, as everyone tries to shake off one trip too many.

“Never mind,” Loki says. “What are you doing here? I know you couldn’t see us; Heimdall said.”

“Interesting,” Hank says. “A teenage girl who can hide an entire country, and it’s starting to sound like she didn’t even know she was doing it!”

"Could we go inside?" T'Challa asks Victor.

Pietro looks at Victor. "Do you want them to come in or not?"

It's weird, talking about his teammate and the one guy on Ms. Marvel’s team who seems like legitimately not-an-asshole like strangers and maybe enemies. But they seem like that, all of a sudden, when they're talking about his sister like something _bad_. No one who does that is Pietro’s friend.

"They can come in once they've proven they can behave," Victor says. 

“Sure! As long as there aren’t any traps,” Hank says. 

"Of course there are traps," Victor says firmly. "But don't worry, I have no plans to activate any of them.” He ushers them forward, all but Sleipnir, who looks disdainful at the thought of an indoors that isn't a barn. T'Challa shrugs thoughtfully.

“Don’t bother saying anything unpleasant to Wanda,” Loki says as they make their way inside. “I don’t believe she intended to hide us—did you?” she asks.

“No!” Wanda says.

“I didn’t think so,” Loki says. She would like Wanda not to cry. “Into this parlor, everyone sit.” They fit themselves into the room until they are nearly comfortable. Fenrir pads to a chair and sits next to it expectantly. He's being good because Loki told him to. Victor sits by Loki, squeezing her arm quickly. Pietro puts himself next to Wanda. They're scaring her, and maybe for good reason, and that's more of a reason for Pietro to look out for her.

“We have not known what to think,” T’Challa says. “Whether it was you, Loki; or Wanda; or perhaps Doom himself.”

“The other Avengers thought it was you,” Hank informs Victor. Victor scowls.

 

“So,” says T’Challa. “This missing Latveria. Hawkeye noticed it first, when he went to fetch the twins for breakfast and they were—comprehensively gone.”

“And then Tony tried to call Loki up, now that you’re pals, but there was nothing to call.” Hank shrugs. “I was out of town for a lot of it, but the long and short is that our teams sent people by and poked and prodded at Latveria, and we damn well couldn’t find it. Neither could JARVIS. And your Heimdall didn’t help much either,” he adds to Loki.

“ _My_ ,” Loki mutters.

"It wasn't Victor," Wanda says in a rush. "I mean, you probably know that, but--don't be mad at Loki, either. I think it must have been me. But I didn't mean to!"

"Knew it!" Hank says.

"Among the vast store of things you _know,"_ Loki says nastily. "Wanda, why might you have wanted to shut us off from everything else?"

Wanda stares intently at the ground. She really doesn't want to talk about this in front of people. "Wouldn't you?" she asks. "If you people wouldn't leave you alone?" Latveria is supposed to be safe. Maybe she was just making it safer.

Loki nods. "Naturally," she says. “Can you think what exactly you might have done? Vanishing Latveria is a feat, but tripping up Heimdall, or Stark’s computers, for that matter, must have taken more than an extra touch of something.”

“I,” says Wanda. “Oh. I—when you were bringing us here. I was thinking—I was thinking, please let us really be safe here, and—and no one can see us. I just wanted to pull a—a big blanket over the nice things and keep out everything else.” She flushes, embarrassed and upset. “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t know it would—it wasn’t supposed to _do_ anything.”

Loki blinks. “Wanda,” she says, “You really are incredible. So, now you know what sort of thing you might be doing in the—background, you can check yourself and see. Laufey and Fenrir can help you. Nothing is wrong. Yes?" She checks with her unwelcome guests, eyebrows raised.

Hank and T’Challa look thoroughly unconvinced.

"If she can do that without meaning to..." Hank starts.

"I can hear you," Wanda says flatly.

"Leave her alone," Pietro says at the same time, and Loki says, "She has not had training, and now she is getting it. If you want a _solution,_ other people already have it in hand, and if you only have poison to spit, you're welcome to leave."

“Ah,” T’Challa says. “But Latveria’s disappearance has not happened in a vacuum. You do not know what else has happened.”


	34. clint barton gets the runaround

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Beg your pardon, sir,” JARVIS answers, “but I believe that you are trying to place a call to something that does not exist.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: people APPEAR to be a little unmade from existence (but it's okay)

Bobbi leaves and Clint manages to catch himself right before he tumbles into a self-loathing fit of despair ( _whoa there, buddy_ ). By the time Tony recruits him to check in on the kids and maybe bring them out for breakfast and general not-going-astray, he’s even managed to be good to himself. He takes a quick shower and cleans _all_ his dishes. He feels pretty good about visiting the wonder twins, because he feels pretty good about everything, except maybe about Magneto lurking around waiting to start a war or whatnot. So he holds off on the negativity when neither of the kids comes to the door right away. He even stops himself from getting flustered when Pietro doesn’t answer his phone, because sometimes he doesn’t. That’s okay.

Calmly, he says, “JARVIS, are Pietro and Wanda here?”

“No, Mr. Barton,” JARVIS says, and Clint still doesn’t panic. They could be taking a walk, for all he knows.

“Do you know where they went?” Clint asks.

“Apologies, Mr. Barton,” JARVIS says. “I don’t know whom you mean.”

Clint waits for his heart to start up again, and then he panics just a little bit. It’s obviously a glitch, but it’s not one they can afford. 

“Can you let me in this room, JARVIS?”

“Certainly, sir,” JARVIS says. The door unlocks. Clint pokes his head in, yells, “Hey, kids!” He wanders further in, checks every room. But there’s nothing, obviously.

“Hey, JARVIS. Where’s Tony?” he asks.

“At breakfast,” says JARVIS.

Clint takes off down the stairs.

~

Tony’s just getting down to business with a piece of toast when Clint comes in.

He frowns. “Wait,” he says. “Didn’t I just send you--? What’s up?”

“Can’t find the kids,” Clint says. “I mean I can’t find that they exist.”   
Tony looks around like he wants to pull something of the air. “Wait,” he says. “What’s the date—hey, Clint, house rule, we do _not_ play April Fool’s. Not to the tune of missing persons, anyway. Are you--?”

“Sorry,” Clint says. “Not joking. D’you know what could go screwy with JARVIS that would make him forget people?”

Tony ignores the immediate sinking feeling. “No,” he says. “JARVIS doesn’t really…glitch. It’s not a thing that happens. I’m not bragging, I’m just saying—someone’s been tampering.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Clint says. “Ask about Pietro and Wanda.”

“JARVIS,” Tony says, standing up and pushing his toast away, “where are Pietro and Wanda?” 

“I am very sorry, sir,” JARVIS replies, “but as I told Mr. Barton, I don’t know any persons by those names who ought to be here. I can run a global search for individuals with those names?”

“Do it,” Tony says. _Damn it._

“As you like,” JARVIS says.

“I just gave Pietro’s place a quick lookaround,” Clint says. “You wanna come look?”

Tony really doesn’t, because by now he’s deeply creeped out, but he probably should. “Sure,” he says. “JARVIS, keep running that scan, and let me know what you find.”

He follows Clint back to the suite where the twins are supposed to be. When the door opens, everything is normal. There are a couple dishes near the sink, the bed is unmade, and Pietro’s stuff is bravely taking up a lot of space, for how little of it there is. But there’s no sign of Pietro, or Wanda.

“Eerie, huh?” Clint says. “At least Pietro still really exists, right? Or where did all the stuff come from?”

“I’m not an expert on this kind of--situation,” Tony says uneasily. “Whatever _this situation_ is. Do you think they ran away on purpose?” 

“I don’t think Pietro would do that, unless he had a really good reason,” Clint says. “Or, I guess maybe he did that one time, when that thing happened last month and he thought you were going to kill him or something? Not really clear on the details, still, let’s keep it that way. The point is, never mind, because I guess that is actually a good reason. What are the best-case scenarios, here?”

“I think that _is_ the best-case scenario,” Tony says unhappily. “Because what are the other options? Someone took them? Someone hid them? Wanda did something to Pietro by accident and now she’s trying to hide it?” He has to stop thinking of possibilities, he’s making it worse.

“Hang on, buddy,” Clint says. “First let’s assume they’re not dead and they haven’t been kidnapped or anything. Where would they go on their own? To Magneto? Their home…land? Country? Pietro’s crazy about Doom and Loki, they could have gone there. Maybe to Logan?”

Tony nods and takes a deep breath. “JARVIS, any luck?”

“I have the lists for you, sir,” JARVIS says. “It may take you awhile to look through them.”

“We’ll narrow our search field,” Tony says.

“Listen,” says Clint, “I’m gonna let everyone know we have a situation and that we’ve got to keep it quiet so it doesn’t go bad, and then I’m gonna make some calls to our friends and frienemies and see if we can’t find our twins.”

Tony nods, grateful. “Fantastic. I’ll go over the lists with JARVIS, try to get a lead. At least find out how well they’re hiding. Or being hidden.”

“Hey, Stark,” Clint says. “They could be taking a walk. Wanda could’ve scrambled something on her way out and they’ll be back by lunchtime.”

“Or we could waste a lot of time assuming that,” Tony says. He runs a distracted hand through his hair. “Both of them are volatile enough that they could wind up in huge trouble before we have a chance to catch up.” It’s not like he has a plan, though.

“Yeah, I know,” Clint says. “Just trying to look on the bright side, too.” He waves and leaves. On his way down the stairs, he sends a message to the rest of the team: _Can’t find twins, JARVIS doesn’t remember them!!! Ideas, anyone? KEEP THIS QUIET. MAGNETO ETC._ He stops off at the gym, because Natasha always goes there at this time of day, and she’s his best bet inside the tower.

~

Natasha _is_ in the gym. It looks as though she’s just starting, rather than finishing up, although to be fair, sometimes it’s hard to tell. When Clint comes in, she’s reaching from a split towards her phone, which is buzzing at her.

“It’s me,” Clint says, and Natasha somehow transforms into upright, ready-to-kick-his-ass Natasha. “Oh my god,” Clint says.

“I hardly ever see you here,” Natasha says. 

“I take the other half of the day,” Clint says. “You get my message just now?”

“I was about to,” Natasha says, waking up her phone. “Another crisis?” She was hoping for a brief respite. Then again, this is the job. “Oh, damn,” she says, reading Clint’s text.

“You haven’t seen the twins this morning, have you?”

Natasha frowns, worried. “No. I wanted to give them time without the team breathing down their necks.”

“Wellll,” says Clint, “apparently they’re getting that. They’re not here, and JARVIS doesn’t even remember who they are.”

Natasha swears in Russian. She knew Wanda would be trouble. She just didn’t expect it to be quite this soon.

“But we remember,” she says. That’s a good sign.

“Guess so,” Clint says. “I was gonna call Loki and _Victor_ if no one here had seen the kids around. You wanna check in with Logan?”

Natasha doesn’t want to. The last thing she wants to do, in fact, is tell Logan that they lost his ex.

“Good plan,” she says, instead of voicing this opinion. “Text me if you find anything.”

“Course,” Clint says. “You too.” He sketches a wave and jogs on. When he gets back to his own room, he tries calling Loki. Except Latveria is apparently having a bad day, too, because the call won’t go through.

“JARVIS,” he says, “any idea why Doctor Doom’s not taking my calls?”

“Beg your pardon, sir,” JARVIS answers, “but I believe that you are trying to place a call to something that does not exist.”

Clint squints. “Latveria. It’s a place. Can you try the embassy here in New York?”

JARVIS says, apologetically, “I will try to put you through, sir, but there seems to be no answer, and no way to leave messages.”

“Some fucking scientist,” Clint says. “Might as well call him Doctor Duck, he’s such a quack.” Which reminds him, _duck pajamas._ Wow, Clint, shut up. “Can you put me through to Natasha?”

JARVIS does. Clint is happy to have asked for something that JARVIS can actually do.

“Any luck?” Natasha asks immediately, when she picks up.

“Yeah,” Clint says. “Bad, bad luck. JARVIS can’t find…wait for it… _Latveria.”_

Natasha swears. Best case, it’s somehow missing. Worst case, it’s _gone._

“They must have gone there,” she says. As to what happened next, there’s no point in guessing. Maybe Loki and Wanda quarreled. Maybe Wanda lost control.

“Might as well grab Logan,” Clint says. “Better bring him in to sniff out Quicksilver. Better than letting him find out on his own and make a big ol’ dangerous stink about it.”

Natasha grimaces. She doesn’t want to deal with whatever little fit Logan will have if he has to deal with Pietro. “I’ll do it,” she says, unsure of how useful it will be. They could have teleported from anywhere, depending on who was involved. “I’ll check back in soon.”

“Thanks, Nat,” Clint says. “See ya here.” Then he runs back downstairs to find Tony again.

Tony is pacing in circles, talking to JARVIS. He stops when Clint comes in. "They're not anywhere," he says frantically. "At least not that I can find from sifting through JARVIS's data."

Clint breathes out slowly and says, "Nat and I think it's because they're in Latveria. And Latveria is, um. A little bit gone."

"Fuck!" Tony says. "What? _What?_ " This is exactly the disaster they knew they were courting when they decided to take Wanda in.

"Nat's gonna bring Logan back here to try and sniff 'em out," Clint says, holding up his hands. "We'll sort this out, okay? The only trick is keeping Magneto's nose out of our business while we do it. Right?"

"Not my favorite trick," Tony says unhappily. "And now we can't even ask Loki for help. This is way, way above our pay-grade. We don't even know what Wanda can do. JARVIS, do you detect any viruses in your system?"

“No, sir,” JARVIS says.

Clint pauses. "Does Ms. Marvel?" he asks.

“Does she detect viruses—”

“ _Does she know about Wanda?”_

Tony hadn't thought to ask. "Maybe better than we do," he says slowly. "Do you think we should bring her in on this? She's unpredictable and temperamental, and her team's basically untested." He plays that back, realizes how much he sounds like Nick Fury, and rubs his temples.

Clint shrugs. "Dunno," he says. "Your choice, boss. But she might know something we don't."

"We're short on options," Tony agrees. “JARVIS—what about intruders? Who’s been on the premises today besides registered residents?”

“Unknown,” JARVIS says. “Unknown. Loki. Bobbi Morse, alias Mockingbird. Ms. Morse is still in the building, sir.”

“Unknown, unknown, Loki?” Tony says. “Okay. That's a start. Wait, why is Mockingbird here?”

Clint tries manfully not to blush. "Huh!" he says. "I mean, oh yeah. She was here. To talk. About stuff. She's still here?" This is probably not the relevant part of the conversation, but he's having trouble getting past it.

Tony says, "Shit. You have to get her out of here before anyone else figures out the kids are _gone_. Mockingbird's a team player, and I don't trust Carol to keep her mouth shut if we don’t explain it to her first. I think we may to need to do that, but I’d sure prefer it on our terms."

"If this is all about discretion, we’re the last two people who should be dealing with it," Clint says. "But okay, I can try to get rid of her. Last I knew, she was headed out anyway. Weird, it was a while ago." Oh, this won't be awkward at _all_.

"Okay, go. When you’ve got Ms. Morse out of the house, can you catch everyone else up on the situation?”

"This is totally going to be one of those days," Clint says sadly.

Tony sighs. "Sorry if you had plans." He claps Clint on the shoulder. " I can come up in a minute and give you an excuse, if you can't manage it on your own."

"I can manage it," Clint says, irked. That had better be true. He gets directions from JARVIS, and he heads Bobbi-wards, trying to think of a nice way to say _I like you so much. Please go away._


	35. thor brings the excitement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Thor?” Tony says. “What’s wrong? Aside from the obvious.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: none

Bobbi is nowhere near the exit when he finds her; she's near the weight room, looking perplexed. When she sees Clint, she says, "Thank god. It's way easier to get lost here than I expected. Have I been here for hours? I feel like I’ve been here for hours."

"I figured you were just snooping," Clint says, which isn't exactly the smooth opening he had in mind. He smiles to show he's not some paranoid lunatic who's dated too many spies.

Bobbi laughs. "That's what I would figure, too," she says. "But no, I'm just lost. I mean, snooping a _little_ , cause have you seen this place? But mostly lost. Point me towards the door?"

"Gladly," Clint says. Oh. God. _Not smooth_. But he's on a mission here. "It's this way. I'll walk you?" He offers his arm.

Bobbi takes it and giggles, sort of. "This is embarrassing," she says. "You'd think somewhere in all my training I would have learned to find an exit."

"Yeah," Clint says stupidly. "Yes. Exits. Not really my strong suit, either." Bobbi hasn't started mocking him or stabbing him in the back yet. Why is she this way? He leads her toward the lobby, hoping to steer clear of anything alarming.

Easier said than done. Bobbi and Clint hit the lobby at about the same time Thor comes storming into it. He doesn't look as pissed as he sometimes does on a sudden entrance, but he looks frazzled.

"Where," he booms at Bobbi and Clint, "is my sibling?"

"Uh," Bobbi says, looking at Clint. 

"Uh," Clint says, glancing frantically between Thor and Bobbi. "Listen, I'm just gonna get Tony, okay?" He whips out his phone to dash off a quick, _Thor, lobby, now_ , assuming JARVIS hasn't sounded the alarm. This isn't exactly how the get-rid-of-Bobbi plan was meant to go.

"I leave for barely a moment, and he disappears," Thor says sternly. "What's going on? Is he in danger?"

"We can most definitely talk about that as soon as I show Mockingbird out," Clint says a little desperately.

"Are you sure?" Bobbi says. "Maybe it's something I can help with? Are you talking about Loki?"

"No," Clint says uselessly.

"Where is Latveria?" Thor demands, ignoring Bobbi. "What's Doom done with it?"

Clint despairs. "I'm sure Tony can explain that. _Later_." If only that were true.

"It's in Europe," Bobbi says. "I think."

"Not," Thor says darkly, "today."

Bobbi pauses. "Did you just say you can't find an entire country?"

The elevator opens behind them and Tony practically shoots out of it. "Thor, Bobbi, Clint, hey!" he says desperately. "Looks like we've got some business to do! Nice to see you, Mockingbird, we'll have to catch up sometime."

"Your buddy here says he lost Latveria," Bobbi says.

"I didn't," Thor says, "but someone did. Where is Loki?"

"I don't know," Tony says. "We haven't talked in a few days. Probably wandering around freaking people out with Doom. Have you tried the embassy?" Don't, he begs silently, _don't_ ask about the twins.

"Of course," Thor says. "That's why I came back to New York. Who's the last person to see either of them? When did Pietro go there last?"

"How often does Pietro go to _Latveria?"_ Bobbi mutters.

Tony says loudly, "Well, y'know, Steve and I were there just when Bobbi's team were interrupting a nice lunch with Pietro and Natasha and Hawkeye, here, so it wasn't that long ago. Probably just some weird magic thing Loki and Doom are doing.”

"Or something Doom is doing on his own," Thor says. He brightens. "What of Pietro's sister, and her supposedly magnificent powers? Is she able to help us locate Loki?"

“Thor!" Tony says brightly. "That's a great idea! Wanda and Pietro are, unfortunately, out right now, but I'll just give Pietro a call and I'm sure they can come back and help us out. So nice to see you, Mockingbird, you and your team should come have dinner with us sometime, great to have friends around--" He starts angling his way towards the door, pushing Bobbi in front of him.

Thor furrows his brow. "Something is amiss. Were you all replaced by aliens while I was away?"

"Says the alien. Something like that," Clint mutters, waving to Bobbi in what he hopes is a friendly, non-crazy way.

"Everything's fine," Tony says, smiling horribly. "Bye, Bobbi!" He practically shoves her out the door. "JARVIS," he says when it shuts. "Please lock the doors to anyone not on the team, excluding Wanda Maximoff."

"Noted, sir," says JARVIS. “If I become aware of a Wanda Maximoff, I will be sure to let her into the tower."

"I'm sorry your chances of an honest-to-god date just plummeted," Tony tells Clint.

"That obvious, huh?" Clint mutters. "Okay, Thor, now you can calm down and stop ruining everything while we figure this out."

Thor crosses his arms and glowers. "Very well."

“Did you not get my message?” Clint asks.

“Perhaps I was _out of range,”_ Thor says.

Tony takes a deep breath.

“So,” he says. “The thing is, we don’t know where the twins are.”

“But you said—” Thor stops looking angry and starts looking worried. “What happened? Another attack?”

“We—don’t know,” Tony admits. “JARVIS thinks they literally don’t exist, and while we still know about it, we can’t seem to—um. We can’t _find_ Latveria. We tried to call in case the kids were there.” He shrugs. “I guess it’s pretty likely that they are. Or were.”

Thor nods. “Latveria is not where it was. I’ve just come from there—or, at least, I tried mightily.”

“What, really?” Clint says. “So, is it just a big hole, or what?”

“Nay. The lands around it are as they were, but when I crossed its borders, I found myself outside them again. It was as if I’d taken a wrong turn. One of Doom’s safeguards, perhaps?”

“Maybe,” Tony says, but he’s shaking his head. “Not one he’s told us about, though. And nothing _used_ to keep you out, Thor, not even in—uh—delicate circumstances.”

“I like it not,” Thor says. He seems to be in an especially formal (and foul) mood. “Doom’s aid in the past guarantees nothing. If he’s hurt Loki or the twins, I’ll tear him apart.”

“Yeah,” Clint says under his breath. “If you can find him.” This just doesn’t feel like a Doom move, though. He’s more showy.

“I dunno,” Tony says. “Listen, we know Magneto’s gunning for us, and everyone knows how powerful Wanda is. My guess is that either someone went after them or there was some kind of magical accident. Or both.” He’s growing pale just thinking about it. “Speaking of which, Thor, where is your boyfriend? We could use Bruce on the job. Hank is in the Amazon building a better bug.” Babbling. But he can’t help it.

Thor’s stormy expression drops. Instead, he looks a little sheepish. 

“Ah,” he says. “He remains in Asgard, at present.”

“Yeah, _and?”_ Tony says. “Keeping low to avoid complications with Magneto? Because it might have been nice if he’d told us he was going.” It _might_ have been nice if anyone had told Tony _anything._

“We both went,” Thor says strangely. “Together. We’d planned on telling everyone when we returned, but now Loki’s missing, and I wanted him to...” He trails off, looking dismayed.

“Thor?” Tony says. “What’s wrong? Aside from the obvious.”

“Wrong? Oh, aside from the obvious, nothing is wrong.” Thor smiles. “We went to marry. And now that we have, I had wanted to tell my sibling first.”

“Hold on, _what?”_ Clint demands.

Tony waves his hands. “What, you got _married?_ And you didn’t tell us first? That’s amazing! They let you do that in Asgard? It’s not a problem with the throne or anything? I can’t believe you got married without telling anybody. Well, congrats.” Tony is trying to convince himself that not being told shouldn’t hurt his feelings, and also it’s completely irrelevant, but it still kind of hurts his feelings anyway.

“You know Bruce,” Thor says fondly. “He hates anyone to notice him. We thought it best to slip away and do without much ceremony, even well-intentioned. And naturally my mother didn’t object. She approves highly of him, on both sides.”

Clint is still trying to get past the whole Bruce-got-married part. “You could have at least let us throw you bachelor parties,” he says weakly. Bruce would really have hated that. No wonder they didn't tell anyone.

“Well, we’ll throw ‘em a party when things settle down,” Tony says distractedly, and then considers. “A little party. Just the team and the Latverians? Not a big party. A tea party, maybe. Maybe Hulk can come to the party instead of Bruce.” Not relevant, _not relevant._ He crosses his arms, anxious. “So I guess the worst case scenario is—that they really don’t exist. That they’re—that they’re gone. Dead.” He swallows. “If they’re not, though...I think we should talk to Wolverine, first off, and maybe Carol’s team if it seems like they might know something about Wanda’s magic that we don’t. I _really_ wish we’d finished that teleporter.”

“Agreed,” Thor says. “Well, if we need fast transport, I can carry someone in the air. We’ll get them back. We have to.”

Clint figures Thor’s probably thinking about what Magneto will do if they don’t, just as much as he is about Loki.

Tony says, “Well, a teleport sends you exactly into another location without moving you through the distance between. It’s like updating your location on a laggy satellite tracker, except you’re the information. If there’s any Latveria to get to, it should be able to get you there. Except the tech doesn’t exist, because we didn’t _finish.”_

“There must be another way, though, right?” Clint asks. “There are other people with magic. Maybe Doctor Strange could help us out.”

Tony says, “I trust his discretion, but I don’t think we should get anyone involved, here, who we can possibly leave out of it. For everyone’s sake.” He frowns. “If it weren’t for that I’d say Mr. Fantastic is our best bet for learning if Doom is behind any of this. He knows creepy levels of too much about his worst nemesis.”

Clint laughs, but he stops when he sees how worried Thor looks. Because Loki is missing, and Thor's husband (weird, _weird_ ) has pissed off Magneto. Right. “So we deal with it ourselves,” he says. “Keep it contained. We talk to Logan and Carol, then move from there. Good deal?”

Tony nods. “I’m kind of sorry we kicked out your girlfriend now,” he tells Clint. “I can’t tell you how excited I am to be the person who talks to Carol.”

“Bobbi’s definitely friendlier,” Clint agrees, not pointing out that Bobbi probably thinks they’re all crazy now and will never be his girlfriend ever.

“What should I do?” Thor asks. He looks like he’s working back up to the kick-down-doors attitude he came in with.

“Why don’t you and Natasha and Clint go talk to Logan?” Tony suggests. “Logan actually likes her, and you and Clint can fill her in on the way. I’m going to contact the rest of the team and then get in touch with Carol.”

“On it,” Clint says. “And Thor can ask Natasha how to explain to Jan that he eloped."

Thor sighs. “I hope this mission requires all our attention.”

Tony laughs, because it’s too easy to imagine Jan shrieking, “You _WHAT?”_ and smacking around Hulk and the god of thunder. Maybe not everything in the world is terrible. Maybe Loki’s family and the twins are all fine and they’ll sort this out without Magneto ever getting the chance he wants to—what? Screw them over? Start a war?

“Okay,” Tony says, “break. Call me when stuff happens.” He runs back down to his lab, starting his message before he even gets there.


	36. avengers tower is full of angry mutants

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “An emotional roadblock at every turn,” Carol says coldly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: ableist language

Logan is a little embarrassed about the last time Natasha came to his house, but she is not the last person Logan wants to see, not by a longshot. Clint and Thor, however, are a lot further down the list.

“Does _everyone_ know where I live now?” he growls.

“Logan,” Natasha says, “it’s important.”

He lets them inside.

“So, hi,” Clint says as the door shuts behind them. “We can’t find Pietro.” He winces.

“And his sister,” Thor adds helpfully.

“ _What?”_ Logan barks, hands in fists. “I thought you were supposed to be keeping him safe! What the hell do you mean, you can’t _find_ them?”

Natasha shakes her head. “It seems likely that Wanda has hidden or—erased them with magic. Or someone chasing after them did, but she is much more likely to have the power for it.” She grimaces. “I suppose it’s what we feared coming true.”

“I didn’t fear this!” Clint says. “I didn’t know this could _happen.”_

“And Latveria is gone,” Thor says. “Especially given how close Pietro is with Loki and Doom, it seems likely that the disappearances are related.”

Logan growls incoherently, and restrains himself, barely, from kicking a hole in the wall. He _likes_ this house.

“Wish I could say it was those assholes,” he says. “Doom and Loki. They wouldn’t hurt the kid, though.” He shrugs. “And Loki might be a fucked-up nutcase but I don’t think his magic goes wrong too much.” It’s not really a compliment. Logan doesn’t have a lot of respect for raw competence.

“Wanda does seem most likely,” Natasha says, “but we don’t know what she did, or why. Logan, could you sniff Pietro out at the tower? See how he left, maybe. They would be gone between yesterday and this morning.”

“You didn’t check on them for a _day?”_ Logan demands. Natasha looks perplexed.

“I suppose not,” she says.

“They are adults, as I understand it, by human standards,” Thor says grumpily. He doesn’t like people to talk about Loki.

“Adults whose problems we seriously underestimated, it turns out,” Clint says.

Natasha says, “I would have checked on them. I—didn’t remember.”

Logan says, “Fine. I get it. Wanda did her magic, you’re all completely blameless, yadda yadda. Let’s go already, so I can try and fix it.”

“If it’s not too awkward,” Clint says. “You’re the best!”

Logan snarls, and doesn’t talk to anybody all the way back to the tower.

~

Tony sends an update message to every Avenger who hasn’t arrived yet—except Bruce, who’s out of range. Hank probably won’t be back for awhile, but Steve and Jan will be a help. Tony sits down to call Carol, feeling horrible. He can’t decide whether he feels more horrible or less when Carol picks up.

“Tony, hey, wasn’t sure you were still speaking to me,” Carol says swiftly. To be honest, Tony calling makes a nice change from the Avengers never returning her calls, but she’s still guilty over their last conversation.

Tony clears his throat. “Carol,” he says. “Nice to see you. Out of interest, how much do you know about Wanda Maximoff’s powers?”

“Probably more than you,” Carol says, not spiteful, just businesslike. “From what we can tell, she’s literally a witch, and she can bend reality. Pretty potent stuff. Before we go further--I think you’d better explain this sudden extra _interest._ Having a tough time with your houseguest?” If the Avengers have scooped her mission and fucked it up, she’s going to be so pissed.

“Well, Carol,” Tony says. He strangles a piece of rubber hose on his desk. “A little trouble, yes. I think Wanda has put the entire country of Latveria out of service. We can’t get in. Nobody can get in. No one’s picking up, either. And Wanda and Pietro apparently don’t exist anymore—I mean, you remember them, I remember them. But JARVIS doesn’t. Oh, hang on.” He mutes himself. “JARVIS, what about Loki or Victor von Doom? Remember them?”

“Certainly,” says JARVIS. “Shall I attempt to give them a call at the embassy?”

“Don’t bother,” says Tony, “but thanks.” He goes back to Carol. “you’ll be happy to hear that Loki and Doom _do_ still exist.” He sounds so cheerful he thinks he might scream next.

“I’m thrilled. Hey, simmer down,” Carol says, although she doesn’t feel so calm herself. “Do you think she did it on purpose? Has anyone hurt her feelings?”

“Last time anybody but Pietro saw her, as far as I know, it was just a nice dinner. She was getting _less_ skittish. Nobody’s been mean the whole time that I’m aware of. But hey, we didn’t even know they were gone. How do I know something didn’t happen?”

“Of course,” Carol mutters. “Well, no point in playing detective now. We need to get Latveria back.” A terrible thought occurs to her. “Magneto doesn’t know she’s gone, does he?”

“No,” Tony promises. “Your Mockingbird does, though. She was here when Thor came storming back from Asgard demanding to know what we did with Loki.”

“Oh, she’s really on the ball,” Carol says, annoyed. “She hasn’t reported to me yet. I’ll get the team together. Maybe between T’Challa’s tech and Danny’s focus, we can break through somehow.”

“That sounds better than anything we’ve got right now,” Tony says gratefully. “Aside from how Magneto could turn this into a complete bloodbath, these are my _friends_ we’re talking about. You might not like them, but I—thanks for helping out. You know, even if it’s not for my sake.”

Carol sighs. This is probably why neither of them operates solo. At least, leading teams, both of them have backup.

“Of course," she says. "My team was all gung-ho to help Wanda before I’d ever determined whether she was a threat or a victim.” She still hasn’t determined that, incidentally. “I’ll shelve our current project and put people on this.”

“Only if it’s okay,” Tony says, surprised.

“I wouldn’t have offered if it wasn't,” Carol says honestly. “Jessica might be disappointed, but that won’t be a first.” HYDRA has always been around. They can wait a little longer.

“Right,” says Tony. “Sure, I mean—” Tony doesn’t even have particularly fond feelings toward Jessica Drew, and he’s pretty sure she doesn’t want him _protecting_ her like an asshole man, but he doesn’t want to be the reason things get worse for her, either.

“It’s fine,” Carol says. “Let’s face it, this thing could hit crisis point at any second, if Magneto gets involved or Wanda loses control. It’s kind of a priority.” Jessica will just have to understand that.

“Fair enough,” Tony says. He’s not really about to argue. “My guys are out getting Wolverine. Hopefully they’ll convince him to come sniff for Pietro without getting mauled in the process. I don’t think he’s too happy with us for breaking them up.”

“An emotional roadblock at every turn,” Carol says coldly. “Jesus Christ. Okay, I’ll update my team. Bobbi better check in soon. Stay in touch.”

“Will do,” Tony says. “Thanks.” He signs off and putters with JARVIS’s settings (no, still no Latveria) until Clint calls him upstairs.

“We caught you a Wolverine,” Clint says, but not like it’s a joke. “And there’s a problem.”

“Another one?” Tony demands. “Related, or unrelated?” 

“Come up,” says Natasha’s voice.

Tony runs.

~

Logan is waiting at the top of the stairs.

“So much for your security,” he says. “Mystique’s been here. I mean just now.”

“What?” Tony asks blankly, already running through all the interactions he’s had today. Too many. “Okay, where? Where exactly? We need to narrow this down and contain it.” Oh, who is he kidding? It’s already too late. It’s just a matter of _how much_ she knows.

“Bobbi,” Clint says miserably. “She probably didn’t really need to talk to me about anything. She’s a pro, anyway—no way she’d pry like she was before she left, unless—”

“--It’s not her?” Logan says. “Sorry, kid, I don’t know what the real deal smells like, so I couldn’t say. If you could get her for me, I guess I could tell ya.”

“Not a priority,” Tony says, feeling lousy about it. “Magneto knows the twins are gone by now. We have to move fast.”

“It’s okay,” Clint says. He can hold his misery for later. “What about Pietro?”

Logan shakes his head. “Hasn’t been through these doors in the last twenty-four hours,” he says. “Where does he sleep?” He doesn’t fucking stutter, but he hates everything about this. Fucking Avengers.

But here’s another few seconds in which Tony decides he doesn’t have time for compassion. If this is being a good leader, he doesn’t like it.

“Follow me,” he says. 

He leads them to Wanda and Pietro’s apartment and gets JARVIS to open the door. “There,” he says. “No sign of any kind of disturbance, but maybe you can smell something.”

Logan grunts and edges into the room. He makes his way through the whole apartment, looking more and more prickly and unhappy.

“There wasn’t anything fresh outside the door,” he says. “Think I recognize a little of Wanda.” That sounds terrible and predatory, from the guy who sleeps with teenagers. “I’ve been around her enough to remember.” He shrugs awkwardly. “They were probably here yesterday, but I don’t know when. I think they left from right about where we’re standing.”

“Well, Loki could have done that,” Clint says. “JARVIS says Loki was here.”

“If Loki was here, it wasn’t for long enough to leave a scent,” Logan says. “They’re kinda distinct.”

Tony shakes his head. “This still doesn’t explain Latveria being gone or hidden or whatever. If the twins went visiting, why would they erase themselves? Something must have happened to make them want to hide.”

“Would it have to be both of them?” Clint asks. “I know they’re codependent and all, but Pietro probably feels safer there than anywhere. Wanda’s jumpy as a cat, on the other hand.”

“She’s fucking crazy,” Logan corrects him.

Tony winces. “Maybe there are other words you could use, there. But I don’t disagree that she’s unstable.”

Natasha nods. “I’m not convinced this was done with reason, or even deliberately.”

“So you’re still on square one,” Logan says gloomily. “Worse than, ‘cause Magneto knows as much as you do.”

“But Carol’s team might know more,” Tony says. “And what they don’t know, they can figure out. Carol said she’d put Black Panther and Iron Fist on it, and the whole team’s been studying up on Wanda.” If you can call listening to gossip “studying.”

“We need to increase security,” Natasha says. “And keep monitoring Latveria, obviously. But Magneto will not fail to act.”

“We could always call up and try to explain,” Tony says, only half-kidding.

“Or call him back and demand to know what he’s done with the twins,” Clint suggests. “It would take some wind out of his sails to blame him first, huh?” 

“Let’s face it,” Tony says, even as Natasha turns to glare at Clint, “there’s no way it’ll make him madder than he already is.”

“I disagree,” Natasha says. “Whatever his true feelings about Wanda, he wants to at least maintain the appearance of a caring father. Accusing him will make matters worse.”

“It’ll give us an extra five seconds before he accuses _us,”_ Clint points out. “And then the worst he can accuse us of is being incompetent. Which, believe me, I know is not great for people in our line of work. But still.”

“I vote we do it,” Tony says, to Clint's surprise. “Not that this is a democracy.”

Natasha sighs sharply. “Fine. Do what you will. But I’m not calling.”

“If you think there’s anything you can say that Magneto can’t use against you, you’re the biggest fucking idiots I’ve ever met.” Logan shrugs. “Some of ‘em, anyway.”

“As if we’re not fucked anyway!” Tony snaps. “We stole and lost his daughter! We befriended the kid he hates! One of our teammates _fixed_ a mutant, how much worse could one phone call possibly make it?”

Logan says, “Hey, the only reason I give a shit is that whatever you do might end up hurting the people I actually like.”

“So what do _you_ think we should do, genius?” Clint demands.

“I suggest you find Wanda,” Logan growls. He waves at Thor. “Don’t you got a guy who can see everything?”

Tony hesitates. “I’m not sure that’s…I mean, we can ask. I’m willing to try anything at this point. Bearing in mind that they might just be _erased.”_

“If they are,” Natasha says, “we must know. Before anyone else does.”

“Even if that is what has happened,” Thor says stiffly, “Heimdall will have seen what happened directly before. I believe he may help us, since Loki is involved.” Heimdall’s policy of non-interference seems mostly unofficial. 

“Oh my god,” Clint says, hitting himself in the head. “Why didn’t we just do that to begin with? Instead of recruiting old sourpuss here.”

“Gotta agree on that one,” Logan mutters.

“Hey, Thor,” Clint says. “Wanna get on that?”

“Gladly,” Thor says, not sounding very glad. Heimdall can be difficult, and he is afraid of what Heimdall might _find_. The question is why he said nothing when Thor took the Bifrost down to see Loki. Perhaps it had not happened yet—or perhaps Heimdall’s vision _has_ failed along with everything else. But the wedding had seemed to put him in good spirits—at least amused him. He might be obliging. 

“I’ll be back,” Thor says. He strides out of the room, already swinging his hammer to prepare for flight.

“Great,” Logan says. “Can I go warn my friends that you’re busy starting the mutant-human war?”

“Not a bad idea,” Natasha says.

“We’re not!” Tony protests. “Magneto is! We’re just...helping.”

“Oh, sweet,” Clint says. “Good for us.”

“I’m going,” Logan says, and he does, actually, right out the door while they're all just standing there.

“We’re so fucking screwed!” Clint says. “Hey! Maybe if we can blame Loki and Doom it won’t start a war after all!”

“Sir,” says JARVIS, “I hate to interrupt, but Magneto is at the front door for you. Or rather, for everyone?”

" _Already?"_

“Shit,” Tony says. “Shit, shit, shit. So much for keeping this quiet. Okay, let’s get out there and try to be as calm and unshowy as possible.” He pauses on his way to the door. “Clint, try to keep the chatter a minimum. This is public and sensitive.” Then he’s off, leaving it to them to catch up.


	37. magneto drops in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Your fears are unwarranted,” Magneto says smoothly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: bad parent alert

Clint feels it’s to his credit that he doesn’t say anything problematic right then, just to tell Tony off, but it’s even harder to keep his mouth shut when they get outside. Logan is still there, and so is Thor—apparently Magneto halted their grand exits. Even as they step outside, Clint can see a tentative crowd forming at a safe distance.

Magneto, of course, is floating above them, posing like a god. Or a character from Dragonball Z. Vegeta material. Clint doesn’t say that.

Magneto says, voice booming, “ _Where—is—my—daughter?”_

Tony sighs. He really should have suited up for this, but then again, that might have escalated the situation. And he’s not really sure how his suit does around Magneto.

“We were just about to ask you that,” he says carefully, well aware of their audience. “One minute she’s staying with us, the next she and Pietro are gone. Both of them, you know, in case you care about your other kid.”

“Tony,” Natasha warns him.

“What more could I do to care for Pietro?” Magneto asks coldly. “As soon as he left Genosha he fell into Wolverine’s company. I thought a fellow mutant would keep him safe, but Wolverine only threw him to you. And now not only have you led him to cut all his ties with mutant-kind, but you have enabled him to ensnare and kidnap his own sister. She came here in good faith, and you—” His craggy face twists painfully. “If he has hurt my little girl, if you have induced him to these actions, I will kill you.”

Logan is pissed off already at the usual mutant-traitor stuff he gets thrown at him—he doesn’t need to hear Magneto’s shit about Pietro, turning him into a victim and a villain in the same breath. He doesn’t need to watch Magneto play Wanda off his audience, either.

“Maybe if you didn’t treat your kids like cannon fodder they wouldn’t try to leave you all the time,” he snaps.

“We want proof they went with you of their own free will,” Clint says loudly.

“They didn’t go with me at all,” Magneto says. “What’s this little ploy?”

“Once Wanda escaped to New York,” Natasha says clearly, “she had no desire to leave us. Pietro was at home here. Where would they go, if you did not take them? Wanda has nowhere else left.”

“Lazy, for the Black Widow,” Magneto remarks. “For one thing, Wanda did not escape. She was escorted here by her own request, and her continuing visit was to be made with my approbation.”

“You cannot believe we won’t see that for one of your tricks!” Thor says testily. There’s lightning flickering around his hammer. Tony glances at him anxiously. The crowd backs off a little, though not so much as might be prudent.

“If nothing else, dude,” Clint says, “you should probably remember that your precious daughter is a legal adult, and you can’t _make_ her stay with you. Not without some serious consequences.”

Magneto laughs bitterly. “If you think I would harm her, either of them, you are exactly the vain, misguided, dangerous fools the newspapers say you are.” He does not point out that, whatever Wanda’s age, the American government is not going to extradite a German citizen and leader of Genosha over the disappearance of a Transian nineteen-year-old who happens to be his daughter. 

“They don’t say too much nice about you,” Clint shoots back.

“Whatever our personal failings,” Tony says through gritted teeth, “we’re not in the business of hurting kids. Can we agree that something else is probably going on here? A third party got involved, or Wanda left completely of her own volition.” It’s probably better to sound like the defenders of female autonomy in front of the crowd. Also, it’s probably true.

Logan is watching Magneto through narrowed eyes. He can see the moment when Magneto decides Stark has made a good move. He hesitates for a moment—Logan doesn’t expect that, and never does, from him—and then he descends. He does not offer his hand in peace.

He says, looking vulnerable and human, standing on the ground with his hands outstretched to the Avengers, “I’ve done nothing to you. Your animosity is unfounded. I only want my child back. What do _you_ want with her?”

“We wanted her to have a choice,” Natasha says blandly, before Tony can say anything. “Just as you did. We wanted to offer her another safe haven, as we did for Pietro. A place where they could use their abilities surrounded by people they could trust.” Her lip twists with disgust. “I think both of them would rather keep company with Hawkeye than Sabretooth.”

“A spy and a murderer, sending my children into battle,” Magneto says, shaking his head. “A child whose abilities and needs none of you understand or respect as you must.”

“Do _you?”_ Clint asks. “Because if you’re not just a bullshitting dickhead and you don’t have Wanda, it might be nice to know what you actually think happened. Cause you already admitted you don’t really think _we_ did something to her.”

To Clint’s relief, he sees that the crowd is getting bored. If there aren’t any fireworks, the only story that might end up in the papers at this point is Wanda’s disappearance. Probably it will—she’s just enough one of those kids-of-celebrities, and Clint sees one scrawny guy with an impressively gigantic lens on his camera hiding among all the smart phones.

“I think we’re all clear on what happens to anyone who tries to attack someone who has the kind of power Wanda does,” Tony says. “We didn’t touch her, maybe you didn’t touch her. I think she did it herself. How about you?”

“I don’t think Magnet-head here cares either way,” Clint says. “Or he wouldn’t have Mystique sneaking around the tower looking for a fuck-up they can use to start a war.”

Magneto says, “Whatever you tell me—or _call_ me, thank you, Hawkeye—I _will_ search this building until I am satisfied Wanda is not in it. I will conduct my investigation with or without your consent and it will continue, with your aid, until I have found her.” His voice drops. “The more you do protest, the more my investigation may uncover of the Avengers’ personal and professional histories. And the more individuals, I think, may need to become involved.”

Tony shuts up. No good way out of that one. Nothing that won’t look worse.

“You dare threaten us?” Thor explodes. “Leave now, or I shall expel you from New York!”

“Sure,” Clint says, “That always works with Magneto.” Logan snorts, though not exactly like he’s blown away by Clint’s wit.

“I left my child in your care and you cannot account for her,” Magneto says grimly. “I don’t think you can afford to assault the father after the daughter has mysteriously vanished from your home.”

“Agreed,” Tony says quickly. “Sorry about him, he’s having a big week.” He shoots Thor an apologetic look. “Okay, Magneto, let’s make a deal. Give us a week to look for her. For them. If we don’t find them in a week, you can start your investigation.” It’s a long shot, but he has to try.

Magneto laughs. “I’ll give you an hour to make space in your tower for my people to move in and start their search.”

Logan stiffens. Clint says, under his breath, “Oh, these will be the best roommates ever.”

And Tony can’t say no. Saying no could start a war. He just raises his chin and says, “Okay. We’ll find her together.” He might as well go out looking good with the crowd, right? Not that it will matter once Magneto starts digging up dirt on them. How many of their team used to be assassins? How many people have Bruce or Thor killed in battle, or by accident? They could find out about Obie, or Loki, or that the Avengers were keeping the Winter Soldier in the attic instead of calling the feds. They could find out who Natasha has been. Jan and Hank might be all right, but Clint has done plenty--that is, _killed_ plenty. He’s _good_ at what he does.

At least an hour is enough time to tell JARVIS to shut down anything Magneto could reach and want.

Magneto nods at Tony. “I knew you were a reasonable man,” he says, with a hint of _under it all._

“Who are your so-called _people?”_ Logan growls.

Magneto raises an eyebrow. “Since you are not one of Mr. Stark’s men, I don’t see that it is your business. But in the interest of transparency—I've decided that Mystique, Sabretooth, and Gambit will be carrying out our investigation.”

“Amazing how you already planned it,” Clint says, but Logan shouts, “ _What?”_ over top of him.

“Wow,” Tony says, “I can’t think of three people I’m less comfortable with having in my house. Sabretooth isn’t coming through these doors, end of story.” He knows he could just as easily object to a shape-shifter who’s already broken in once, or a triple-crossing gambler, but Sabretooth is just an animal. He’s Logan with no morals. If he did find Wanda, he’d probably eat her.

“Your fears are unwarranted,” Magneto says smoothly. “Sabretooth has been Wanda’s protector for months. No one is better equipped to find her. He need not sleep under your roof, if you _truly_ object, but he _will_ be involved in the search.”

Logan grits his teeth, but it’s not his call, and he doesn’t say a word. He knows what Creed will say the minute he sees Logan, though. He knows what Creed has said before, about _both_ of the twins. And of course he knows what Creed is capable of, a hell of a lot better than Tony Stark ever will.

“Fine,” Tony says, frustrated. At least, he thinks, the assholes will probably be too busy to get in the way of the Avengers’ to find Wanda. And there’s no need to mention Carol and her team at all.

“Leave Mystique to me,” Natasha mutters to Clint. Clint bites back a laugh.

“Naturally,” he says.

“An hour,” Magneto says, and rises back into the air before anyone can argue with him anymore.


	38. the avengers make plans for storage and incorporation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "This is just not the low-stress day I was hoping for," she says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings:

As soon as he’s gone, Logan turns to Tony. “You gotta let me stay,” he says. “You can’t handle these people. You don’t know ‘em. I’m not letting Creed near Pietro without me there.”

Tony laughs shakily. “Are you kidding? If you want to stay, I’ll owe you for years. We need you. I can’t raise a finger against them without getting called anti-mutant. If we find the twins, I’ll send them to you first.” Much as he hates to admit it, and much as Logan doesn't like him, having Logan around is like having a kind of grumpy teddy bear in your bed.

Logan looks surprised. “Well, okay,” he says. “That’s—uh. Accommodating.”

“I’ll watch Gambit,” Clint says, and then realizes the kid with the camera is still there, hiding in a tree. “Maybe we should go inside,” he says.

Tony nods and lets them back in. “Okay,” he says once the doors are safely closed, “we need to call a meeting and update everyone else. And I need to lock down everything sensitive. Natasha, want to catch everyone up while I do that?”

“Of course,” Natasha says. “And I recommend code words. Because of Mystique.”

“This is going to be so much fun,” Clint says.

“I can smell her without any damn code words,” Logan says. “But I can’t be everywhere at once.”

“Mystique might help you out on that one,” Clint points out. 

“I will hound them until they disperse,” Thor says regally. He looks very annoyed. “I hope these beasts are well prepared to match a god who wanted to be on his honeymoon by now.”

Tony can only assume Thor just learned about honeymoons from Bruce, but the threat is no less intimidating for that. “All I ask is that nobody starts a war,” he says, thinking of how Steve will react. “But we also can’t afford to let them walk all over us. It’s going to be a little stressful around here until we find the twins.”

“I can’t believe you got married,” Clint says to Thor. “It’s adorable.”

“Did anyone find them yet?” Jan calls from the doorway. “Ohmygod, you guys, oh! Logan! Are they still gone? What’s going on?”

“We’re calling a meeting,” Natasha says, crossing the room to squeeze Jan’s arm. “But to sum up, Magneto's brotherhood are moving in.”

“Oh my _god,”_ Jan says more emphatically. “We lost the twins, _and_ Latveria, _and_ our house is gonna be full of bad guys?” She looks over. “And Logan?”

“Pretty much,” Clint says. “Plus Hank’s in the Amazon and Bruce is hiding from Magneto in Asgard. Oh, and P.S., he and Thor got married and none of us were invited.”

“ _What?”_ Jan shrieks, and smacks Thor in the arm.

Thor yelps and looks startled, and then embarrassed. “You strike hard! Bruce didn’t want _fuss._ You may throw a party to celebrate finding the twins, when we do.”

“I’ll be back,” Tony says. “You get everyone together. I have to hide all the stuff I want hidden.”

They nod and wave him off. Jan says, “You big jerk! You knew I’d have to make a fuss _sometime,_ right? Was it too adorable? Did you make them dress up? Was it Hulk or Bruce? Is Loki gonna get married next, or Tyr?”

Thor shudders, realizing as he does that it’s not entirely improbable. “If he and Doom haven’t been erased from reality, perhaps Loki _will_ …get married. And I married both Hulk and Bruce, of course. But the ceremony was Bruce. What little ceremony there was,” he adds pointedly.

Natasha snorts. “you make me anxious about my eventual wedding, Janet.” As she speaks, she’s sending a message to Steve, calling him to the meeting room—but Steve comes in even as she’s calling him. 

"Oh my god," Jan says at Natasha hollowly.

Steve, looking grim, says, “Ran into Tony. In short: missing twins, missing country, unwanted guests? And I hear you’re a married man,” he says to Thor. “Congratulations to you all.”

Thor beams. “Thank you, my friend.”

“We don’t have much time,” Natasha reminds them. “The plan: don’t antagonize Magneto and his people. Look discreetly for the twins away from them when possible, and work with them when unavoidable. Let Logan take the lead with the brotherhood. Keep quiet about Ms. Marvel’s team, but we keep them in the know as we can, and we all help each other. Essentially, try to maintain a state of calm.”

“Ms. Marvel’s team?” Jan asks.

“It was their initiative that brought Wanda here to begin with,” Natasha says. “Now that they’re on the outside and we are...somewhat housebound, perhaps they are useful. They wish to help.”

“Swell,” Jan says. “Are they good at stuff? It will definitely help if they’re good at stuff.”

“Maybe,” Natasha says dubiously. “Between them they have training, power, and many unknown factors. I don’t know much of Jewel, Power Man, or Iron Fist.”

“Hoo boy,” says Jan. “I sure do. But I doubt it’s anything you’d consider helpful.”

“You have to tell me,” Clint says, but half-heartedly. He’s busy thinking about how Bobbi doesn’t really like him and he’s a giant sucker. Which is better than Bobbi being a huge traitor, but it feels equally bad. Not that it matters right now, one way or the other.

“Later,” Natasha says, not sounding very interested. “For now, brace yourselves to have your privacy invaded without flinching.”

“That will be easy for me,” Thor says, somewhere between angry and cheerful. “I have nothing to hide.”

“Your wedding to the man at the top of Magneto’s hit list,” Natasha suggests, and Thor grimaces.

“Aw, c’mon,” Clint says. “Don’t tell me that making Bruce more untouchable isn’t half of why you guys ran off and got hitched. Aside from being so gross-cute.”

“I don’t think having nothing to hide makes me feel better about having Magneto’s cronies pawing through my personal life,” says Jan.

“Good,” says Logan sharply. “Because Mystique and Gambit might be trouble, but Sabretooth will do a helluva lot more than ruin your reputation.”

“Meaning what?” Thor demands. “He can’t attack us outright in our home.” He realizes as he speaks that this may not match Logan’s experience.

“Give him any little reason,” Logan says. “Give him enough of a reason that Magneto can work out the rest of one. Creed’s not on anybody’s side like he’s on his own, and on his own, he likes to hurt people. Including his boss’s kids, if he can get away with it.”

“I remember that time I thought Pietro was scary,” Jan says.

“Yeah,” Logan says uncomfortably. “He’s not. He’s just a kid.”

“And he lived with Sabretooth,” Natasha says flatly. “Both of them did.” She hesitates as if she’s about to say something else, but she doesn’t. She just stands there looking murderous.

“Well, just because Magneto’s breathing down our necks doesn’t mean the kids have to go with him if we-- _when_ we fnd them,” Clint points out. “They _are_ adults.”

“And a little undocumented in this country, maybe?” Jan counters. “But I’m pretty sure they could wrangle themselves a deportation to Latveria, if the law comes down not on their side. They belong there, right?”

“If they like it so much, then why is Latveria gone?” Clint asks.

“Yikes,” says Jan.

"We'll work on that when we get there, shall we?" Steve says. "For now it sounds like we've got about three quarters of an hour to make ourselves untouchable."

Thor continues looking grim. "I already am. And if they attempt to harm me or deter me in my search for Loki, they will find out how untouchable I am."

"Fair enough," says Clint, "but, hey, big guy, try to remember the rest of us aren't immortal, and Magneto is a scary dude with all the relevant kinds of power."

"That's a fact," Jan says, shuddering. "And he never forgets a grudge. Or an advantage."

Thor looks even more distressed and falls silent.

"We'll survive this," Natasha says grimly. "Now, I must go and put my private items somewhere safe." She turns on her heel and strides out.

"Well," says Steve. "Likewise. See you all soon. We won't be putting up with this long."

"You hope," says Clint. "If they're not all dead."

Thor shouts wordlessly and smashes his hammer down on the floor, leaving a sizable dent.

"They're _not_ ," he says.

When everyone's hearts are back to beating normally in their chests, Clint says, "I'm not trying to be a jerk, but we don't _know."_

"We should bear the worst in mind," Steve says grimly. "It doesn't mean that's what happened, but we have to have a plan on the small chance that it did."

"Oh!" Jan says. "Obviously we do, but don't--how can you just _say_ that? A whole country? Our friends? God, of course Thor doesn't want to talk about a stupid _contingency plan!_ It's too awful!" Her eyes are bright with tears.

Thor gives Jan a deeply grateful look. "Thank you," he says hoarsely. "I've tried to stay calm, but I--If anything happens to Loki, I don't know what I'll do."

"None of them go down easy," Clint says sheepishly. He doesn't _like_ pointing out terrible things. "I think it's a hell of a lot more likely that they're okay than anything else. Maybe Wanda just didn't want any visitors!"

"I think we should keep a patrol on the border," Steve says, frowning. "In case the situation changes and we can get in again."

"I would offer," Thor says, composing himself, "but I think I'm needed here. If something should go wrong, I'd like to be at the tower to do battle with these villains."

"Ask Tony," Jan says, sniffing. "He'll have an opinion about where everyone should be."

"I shall," Thor says. He leans down and puts an arm around Jan. "Don't worry, my friend. I don't believe they're dead." He's worried, but Clint's right. Neither Loki nor Doom is easily killed.

Jan nods. "This is just not the low-stress day I was hoping for," she says.

"Nor I, believe me," Thor says. He pats her shoulder and lets go. "We'll make the best of it. Gambit sounds like an entertaining fellow."

"Ugh," says Clint. "I'm locking up my trick arrows now. Bye." He leaves before he can hear any more about how great _Gambit_ is.

"I'm going to move anything of Bruce's," Thor says, realizing. If anything should be hidden from Magneto, it's Bruce's research.

"Ohh," Jan says. "Yeah. Good thing you can fly. Need to store anything at my place? I mean, I guess you could just bring everything to Asgard, but if you want something more local..."

"Yes!" Thor exclaims. He picks up his hammer. "Thank you. That would be perfect. I should hurry." He doesn't invade Bruce's work area except on rare occasions, but he thinks he can locate all the items that most need to be moved.

"Let me come with and I'll help you carry and unlock the door," Jan says. 

"Guess that leaves me," Steve says. He knows what he's going to hide, which isn't much. The part that he wants to is right out there in the open. Even if Magneto doesn't reveal him on purpose, the fact that he's not the Super Soldier anymore isn't going to stay hidden. Nothing to be done. "Good luck, team."


	39. not-the-new-avengers will be your cavalry today

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony usually overreacts to things, but this time, he's got good reason to be anxious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: none

Bobbi fails to check in and Tony doesn't call back, so Carol gets the team together at Jess and Luke's house.

"Okay, everyone," she says. "We've got a situation. I think we're going to need a change of plans here."

"What kind of change of plans?" Jessica asks sharply.

It's like she already knows. "We're putting HYDRA on hold," Carol says, dreading Jessica's reaction. "Something's come up." She can see Luke out of the corner of her eye, looking both pleased and worried. Jessica doesn't say anything, just shuts her mouth, jaw tight. 

T'Challa says, "May I ask what has happened?"

Carol leans forward, elbows on knees. "Okay, so the Avengers can't find the Scarlet Witch. Tony's computer doesn't even remember that she or her brother exist. And on top of that, Latveria's disappeared. So, you’re going to have to work with me."

"Work with you, sure," Danny says. "That sounds like--hey, do we care that Latveria has...done whatever it is that it's doing?"

"We shouldn't care about any of it," Jessica says, leaning back in her chair. "The only reason we went for Wanda to begin with is that she was a big old threat. Now she doesn't exist! So, threat over, right?"

"Wrong," Carol says. Jessica is being aggressively casual and it sets Carol on edge, but she _has_ to ignore it. "For a couple of reasons. First of all, people don't just disappear for no reason. Who's to say she won't be back? Or that something worse didn't erase her? And second, Tony wants our help."

"Well, of course we'll help," Bobbi says.

"Perhaps Wakanda's technologies have not been affected," says T'Challa. "I can investigate immediately."

"I can take a peek," Danny offers. "Does her _dad_ know Wanda's missing, yet?"

Carol hesitates. "By now, probably. But not as of my last conversation with Tony." She frowns, reminded of something. "Bobbi, why didn't you tell me you'd been to Avengers Tower?"

Bobbi blushes and says, "Um!"

"You _were_ there on business, right?" Carol asks.

"If I say no, I don't have to talk about it, right?" Bobbi answers, looking at the ceiling.

"Oh, _I_ see," says Danny, sounding a little too pleased. “You and the—”

"Unsee, Danny," Jess says. "Don't make poor Bobbi blush."

"Argh!" Bobbi says, blushing more.

"Okay," Luke says, "so what does this mean? Are we thinking Wanda's hiding in Latveria and doing a really damn good job of it? Did something happen with the Avengers?"

Carol shakes her head. "I wish I knew. But I think we should start by using T'Challa's equipment to scan the area."

"Naturally," T'Challa says.

"I can take a peek," Danny mutters again. Jess tugs his hair reassuringly.

"So, to be clear," Jessica says, "we're just--not doing anything HYDRA anymore? Even though they know we've been poking around?"

"To be fair," Danny says, people poke around a _lot._ We could get away with that pretty easily."

"I'm not saying drop it forever," Carol says, annoyed. It's worse because she feels bad, and because she knew this would be a problem. "But for now, this has the potential to be a little more immediately world-threatening than an organization that's been around since World War II."

Jessica nods, not looking at her.

"We'll get back to HYDRA as soon as Wanda turns up," Luke says. "Maybe Danny can speed up the process." That's Luke, always playing peacemaker.

"I get it," Jessica says. "Sure."

"If you don't mind, I think I'd like to go _to_ Latveria," Danny says. "Or, you know, where it should be. Panther, you working remote or on-site?"

"I will happily travel with you," T'Challa says. "No doubt we can both learn more in person."

"I guess the rest of us will just wait, then," Luke says. "You know, Carol, we could still tackle HYDRA. We won't be doing anything else."

"No," Carol says, frustrated. "We can't afford to have our efforts split. Both of these projects are too big and potentially too dangerous for us to handle in small groups."

"So what _do_ we do?" Jess asks reasonably. "The rest of us are really a lot more hands on, and it doesn't sound like there's anything to touch."

"What I'm guessing Tony needs right now is someone to keep an eye on the Magneto situation," Carol says. "If he doesn't know yet it'll be a miracle, but just in case, we should try to keep it that way. If he does know, we might need to run damage control."

"Sure, we're great at that," Luke says mildly.

"We'll do fine," Jess says. "Do you want any of us to head over there and talk to them in person?"

"I can," Bobbi volunteers.

Carol frowns. "Maybe, but first I want to know you're going to be reliable. You didn't tell me anything was going on with Wanda."

Bobbi looks blank. "What? I didn't know. I just talked to Clint about--stuff and took off."

Jessica says, "We're doing great already, I see."

"Why did you think she'd know?" Danny asks Carol carefully.

"Because," Carol says slowly, "Tony said--Bobbi, he told me you were there when Thor showed up looking for Loki."

"What?" Bobbi says. "That didn't happen."

Luke says, "Shit."

"I'm assuming this means Magneto knows," Jess says. "I can't think who else would have a chameleon spy in Avengers Tower, but that doesn't mean anything--still. It seems likely it was one of his, right?"

"Pretty likely, sweetie-pie," Danny says, and then winces. Inappropriate in every direction.

"Damn it!" Carol says. "We'd better tell Tony. There's no telling what else she dug up while she was there."

Jess says, "Luke and I can head over with the real Bobbi, if you want. Or we could make a call?"

"In person is probably better," Carol says. "Thanks." They're a very diplomatic segment of the team. They'll make it as all right as it can be.

"Great," Luke says. "Be careful in Latveria, Danny." He drops his hand to Danny's hip and gives him a pat.

Danny nearly pulls him back for a kiss, but he just nods and smiles. "Always," he says. "Good luck with the goody-two-shoes. And Magneto. He's bound to show up any second."

Luke grimaces. "Trust me, I'm ready. As ready as I can be, anyway. Guy's nothing but trouble."

That's putting it mildly, Carol thinks. Tony usually overreacts to things, but this time, he's got good reason to be anxious.

"We know all kinds of diplomacy," Jess says reassuringly. "Including the kind with violence. You worry about finding our missing persons, and we'll worry about Magneto."

"Easy as that," Danny says, but he smiles. 

T'Challa says, "Your familial affections are quite moving. I am reminded of when I briefly courted Storm of the X-Men...although she was not as yielding and sweet as you are to one another."

Carol opens and shuts her mouth. Finally she says, "Uh, wow, the X-Men. Good choice, there." It's probably not the right thing to say.

Luke shakes his head. "Ah, she might change her mind."

"If not, I will not be offended," T'Challa says cheerfully. "She is a proud woman, which is only right for someone of her rank and power! Perhaps I will someday find love in someone who finds me better suited, but for now, I am content to rule Wakanda and protect those weaker than myself. Iron Fist, shall we go?"

"Yes," Danny says, eyeing Carol. "I think that would be fine."

"Please go," Carol says weakly. Maybe then she can relax.

T'Challa and Danny make it out the door ahead of Jess and Luke and Bobbi, and by default Jessica and Carol have to go because all the people who actually live here are leaving. Still, there are a few seconds where Jessica is left on the street with Carol.

"I'm not a diplomat," Jessica says. "And I don't have a spider sense. I can just--I'll just go home. I'll be on call."

"Okay," Carol says, feeling horribly guilty but not sure what to do about it. "Take care of yourself. I know this HYDRA thing is kind of taking a toll."

"No, it's--it's fine," Jessica says. "It was a stupid idea. I was just talking. This is more important."

"Well," Carol says briskly, "if you want to call anyone--you should." That isn't where she meant to go with that, but why the hell would Jessica want to call _her?_

Jessica doesn't explain that there's nothing to talk about and that she doesn't really like talking out her problems anyway--she hates it, in fact. Instead she says, "Yeah, absolutely. Gimme a call when you need me," and even manages to smile at Carol like a pro before she leaves.

Carol goes home feeling worse than before she called the meeting. Having a plan should help, but she's not sure it's a plan that's going to come to anything good. She'll just have to wait and hope her team pulls something out of thin air.

If she's lucky, it'll happen before Magneto starts a war with them.

~

Luke and Jess and Bobbi hit the road and make it to the tower in just over half an hour. They lose some of their stride when Wolverine opens the door.

"Whaddya want?" he growls.

"Hey, Wolverine," Luke says, undaunted. Logan is good. Likes kids. That makes him okay in Luke's book. "We came by to help with the Wanda situation. And to let you know Mystique's or someone like her's been sniffing around your base."

Logan leans out and gives Bobbi a timely sniff.

"Yeah," he says. "So I noticed. Good to see you're back to being yourself, Morse."

"I take it our news comes late," Jess says.

"Little bit," says Logan. "It's not my base, by the way." He doesn't mention how much it gets his dander up to hear it called "the Wanda situation."

"But you're here," Bobbi says. "What does that mean, exactly? Does it mean Magneto's involved already?" Mystique moves fast, so probably.

"Came to sniff out the kids," Logan says. "See if they left by the front door. Listen, I meant that--lemme go get someone else and see if they want you inside."

He disappears, leaving them on the doorstep.

"Carol won't be happy," Jess remarks.

"Carol's never happy," Bobbi sighs. "Think they'll let us in?"

"If not, I don't mind leaving it alone," Luke says. "I don't know how good they're gonna be at helping the kids, but they must be better than Carol."

Jess looks disapproving, but she says, "We should never have been there to begin with. I know you don't like the HYDRA project, Luke, but at least we have some right. We should never have gone to Genosha."

"I know," Luke says unhappily. "I just don't want that poor kid getting jerked around by all these assholes. Including her father."

"I know," Jess says, looking around in case she spots anyone listening. "Best intentions. But this has not gone well, not for Wanda and not for her brother, either. We're lucky they were both alive up until today. We'll be lucky if they're alive now. We'll be lucky if they haven't taken an entire country with them."

Luke swears under his breath.

"God," Bobbi says. "What the hell are we even supposed to do? This is out of our league."

"T'Challa and Danny are doing what they can," Luke says. "Till then, I guess we stand on the Avengers' doorstep.” 

They don't have to wait long; Wolverine comes back at Tony's heels.

"So, hey," Tony says, looking harassed. His hair is even more unruly than usual. "What's up?"

"We were going to tell you Mystique was here," Jess says. "But you know, apparently. So maybe you should let us know the situation and what we can do about it."

"I should," Tony says, sounding unsure about it. "But definitely not outside. We're going to have unwanted guests any minute now. Come on in." He ushers them inside and locks the door electronically.

"Okay, shoot," Luke says.

Tony runs a hand through his hair. "Magneto and his cronies are about to move in," he says.

Logan looks sour. Worse than sour. 

Jess says, "Magneto is moving to New York?"

"Not actually," Tony says. "I mean, not he himself. But his people are. Specifically, Sabretooth, Mystique, and Gambit."

Luke whistles. Logan bares his teeth.

Jess says, “In the tower?”

"Yeah," Tony says shortly.

"Can they _do_ that?" Bobbi asks. But she knows they can. The law doesn't usually apply when Magneto decides to play the victim card.

"I'm sure he's making it hard to say no," Jess says.

"Damn well is," Logan grumbles.

"Pretty much impossible," Tony agrees. "He's put us in a really shitty situation."

"And I'm guessing any ass-kicking would be mutant persecution, right?" Bobbi asks.

Logan shrugs. Magneto is not his favorite way to talk about _mutant persecution_. Too bad it’s the only one non-mutants ever want to bring up. He says,"Makes it look like they're standing in the way of Magneto finding his kid."

"For good reason," Luke mutters.

"But it's never that easy," Tony says. "Sorry, Luke. Nobody wanted any of this to happen, and I'm not sure there _is_ a good option at this point. That said, you should probably go."

"Any missions to set us before your nanny duties begin?" Jess asks. "Better now than later, right?"

Tony refocuses, blinking at her like he's just noticed her. "Oh, hey, a sensible person. Didn't see you there. Okay, I might have something for you."

"Good," Jess says. "Carol sent Danny and T'Challa to Latveria to see what they could dig up, but the idea is that we're all meant to be helping you." Not that Carol would say it that way, probably. Carol probably also wouldn't say that if Tony quite reasonably decided he didn't want another team running into his, in these circumstances, she wouldn't blame him for turning them away.

"Wow," Tony says, surprised. "She really got on that ball. I guess I should have expected that. Military, and all. Anyway, thanks. I guess what we could really use right now is damage control. Find out how bad we're looking to the public right now. Because as much as I don't want to worry about that, it's what Magneto's going to use."

Bobbi nods. "I think we're equipped for that. Right, guys?"

Jess nods. "We can keep ourselves quiet if that's better, just drop you intel. _How_ do we drop you intel, with Mystique and Gambit lurking around?"

"I was worrying about that," Tony says. "Thing is, I don't think a single one of them has the technical skill to crack anything I lock down too tightly in JARVIS's system. They’re good at what they do, I’ll grant you, but so am I. I can give you a private email."

"Easy enough," Jess says.

Tony pulls a pack of post-it notes out of his back pocket, scribbles something on the top one, tears it off, and hands it to her.

"Don't lose it," he says. "Now, get out of here before Sabretooth shows up."

Jess waves in agreement. "You bet," she says, nods to Logan, and heads out the door in front of the others.


	40. a fun visit from the brotherhood of evil mutants

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hawkeye's right," Mystique says, exasperated. "We're here for a reason."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: none

This time when Mystique arrives at the Avengers’ tower, she’s not wearing anyone's skin but her own. This isn't going to be the worst job she's ever worked, but she's not looking forward to being stuck in some rich asshole's mansion with a bunch of humans; she’s not about to sugarcoat herself for their comfort, no matter how useful it might be.

She rings the bell, flanked by Sabretooth and Gambit. She might as well act like they’ve been invited. If they're going to need muscle instead of finesse, it'll be later, when things go bad. Better to save it up.

" _Cherie_ , where is your beautiful smile?" Gambit murmurs at her. "Don't you think our nice hosts deserve a little smile?"

Mystique resists the urge to either elbow him in the ribs or kick him until he cries. 

"No," she says.

"I'll smile enough for everyone," Sabretooth says. It's true, he's grinning in the way that means someone's going to get hurt. Mystique hopes it doesn't happen on her time.

"Too late anyway," Gambit says. "Our kind hosts approach."

He isn't wrong--entirely. Clint and Natasha are striding towards the door, not bothering to look particularly friendly. Clint opens the door.

"Welcome to Avengers Tower," he says. "We're so excited for you to come help us out and not annoy us at all."

"We're not here to help you," Mystique says shortly, stepping past him into the room. "We're here to find out what's happened to Wanda." She can't quite hide her distaste when she says Wanda's name. She notices Black Widow noticing and tries to decide which of them would win in a fight.

"Nonetheless, we are very grateful to your hospitality," Gambit says, coming inside and waving Sabretooth unwillingly after him. He is apparently untroubled by any of the tension in the room. Clint would like to punch him in his floaty little accent. Or his creepy eyes. Clint would basically just like to punch him anywhere.

"Where is he?" Sabretooth demands as soon as he crosses the threshold. "Logan. I smell him."

"Well, that's creepy," Clint says. "I don't actually keep a bell on him, so I couldn't say. I'm sure he's around somewhere. Won't you come see your rooms?"

"Only if you and I _share_ ," Gambit says, raising his eyebrows at Clint. "Otherwise I'm not a bit interested."

"What the hell?" Clint says.

"Oh, no, no, don't get me wrong," Gambit says like cheerful molasses. Clint is not sure how he could possibly get him _right._

"Stop it!" Mystique hisses. She should have known he'd embarrass them all immediately. If anyone's going to be throw a wrench in everything, it'll be her, and it’ll be for a good reason, and she won’t do it like _that_. Or like that idiot Sabretooth, either.

"I understood that this was a professional visit," Natasha says coldly, her accent thick.

"Madame, I am a consummate professional," Gambit says. "But you should know better than anybody that you don't gain anything from a cold bed, hm?" He can feel Mystique planning how she'll kill him from here. He ignores her, though; he trusts himself to know how far he can push it.

Natasha arches her eyebrow. "Interesting. Follow us."

They do, Sabretooth falling behind a little to prowl from side to side in the wide corridors, sniffing.

"Our rooms, and the one where Wanda was staying," Mystique instructs them. She doesn't say _the twins_ , not because she's been told to leave Pietro out of it, but because she pays attention to what Magneto needs.

"Sure," says Clint. 

"I see the rest of your party have chosen to be elsewhere at this time," Gambit says. "I hope they know what we look like so they don't confuse us with criminals, when we finally meet." It's funny for the obvious reason, and for the secondary obvious reason that one of them is Mystique. He looks around to see if anyone is appreciating properly his sense of humor.

Natasha's lip is curled in disgust. Mystique is just exasperated.

"They better stay out of the way till we find the damn kids," Sabretooth spits, catching up. He pauses. "I can smell 'em. Wanda and Pietro. But they're clearly not here."

"Yeah, weirdly, we weren't lying," Clint says.

"Had to check," Sabretooth says, shrugging.

Mystique really wishes she hadn't had to bring the two worst actors in the world with her. Neither of them cares enough.

"That doesn't mean you didn't send Wanda somewhere," she says. "Bruce Banner is no friend to mutants, and anyone would be stupid to underestimate his power."

"If we knew where they were," Clint says, "we coulda showed your boss, and they coulda said, sorry, we're staying with these people who aren't creeps, and then your boss would leave and we wouldn't be having this conversation." Not professional, Clint. But they've got him on edge. He doesn't dislike mutants, but he doesn't really like groups of mutants in his house actively hating him.

"And what a pity that would be," says Gambit. "You have such a beautiful voice, Mr. Barton."

Mystique treads heavily on Gambit's instep and talks over his sound of pain. "No, he doesn't. Listen, Barton, we just want to give her a chance to go home. To people like her."

As if Wanda is anything like them.

"Of course," says Clint. "Here you are. One two three." He points out the rooms in order. They're really big comfy suites, just like Pietro's. Can't afford to insult them _too_ much. "Everyone pick a door."

"This will do," Mystique says uncomfortably. She could live without the ceremony, but this is no time to get picky. If she decides she hates it too much, she'll just sleep on the floor.

"Where's Logan staying?" Sabretooth asks, and Mystique bites back a response. No one _ever_ misses an opportunity to fuck up.

"I don't think that's to the point," says Clint. He glances at Natasha to see if they're getting any of the same vibes from these three. Sometimes they are, although as far as Clint knows Natasha still thinks he's a complete idiot, so she might not always notice.

"Hawkeye's right," Mystique says, exasperated. "We're here for a reason."

"The protection of Magneto's daughter," Natasha says coldly.

Mystique meets her eyes and doesn't flinch. "That's right."

"So that's the setup," Clint says. "For you. Better get briefed with the boss. He was just finishing something up, but he can get you access keys and whatnot."

"To not very much, I'll hazard a guess," says Gambit.

"Couldn't say," Clint says. "I'm not the boss."

Mystique smiles for the first time since she came through the front door. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be able to access whatever we need."

She's gratified to see the hand nearest Natasha's gun twitch.

Clint decides to ignore the veiled threats and grabs his calling card.

"Boss," he says when Tony answers. "Guests. Showed 'em their rooms. Wanna get 'em keyed?"

"'Want to' is a little strong," Tony says dryly. "Thanks, Hawkeye. I'll be right there."

Mystique waits impatiently. It's bad enough having to play nice with these humans, but she's just counting down until Gambit or Sabretooth does something totally inappropriate.

"Well, this is awfully comfortable," Gambit says into the silence. "It's so kind of you to have us. The commute from here to Genosha would get a little rough, don't you think?"

"Aren't you supposed to be an X-Man?" Clint asks moodily.

"Yes," Mystique and Sabretooth say at the same time.

Gambit looks wounded, but not deeply. "Why, no," he says. "I go where I'm needed. Doesn't it seem like maybe I'm needed on Magneto's side? Professor Xavier is content with his place in the world, and I'm not one to disrupt that by hanging around. Anyway, there's a damsel in distress here, isn't there?" He bows. "My _calling."_

Clint wants to asks him if he can possibly mean all this flowery bullshit, but there is no way the answer would make him happier than keeping his mouth shut.

"My calling is to fucking eat you," Sabretooth says.

He's both speaking in full sentences and acting like an animal, Mystique notices. Usually he picks one or the other. She really wishes Logan were somewhere else.

"Now, now," Gambit says. "I don't think you'd have very good luck there, my friend." There's a split second where Clint can see that he's not bluffing. It's annoying to think that, probably, a lot of people see Clint the same way. Really annoying.

"Anybody who eats anybody hires a new cleaning crew when this one quits," he says.

Natasha raises her eyebrows, and he adds, “Even if this cleaning crew is entirely robots, hey, don’t nitpick. Tony _does_ grow ‘em smart.”

Sabretooth's snarl is cut off by Tony's arrival.

"Hey," Tony says, pulling up short. He's not wearing the Iron Man armor, Mystique notices. A little strange.

He waves three keycards at them. "Don't worry, I've got your extremely temporary access all taken care of."

"Very kind," Gambit says again, apparently unconcerned about Sabretooth's murderous urges. He takes all three cards and flicks the two spares to his companions. "But I wouldn't give anything to him without some distance between you, hm?" He shrugs his head towards Sabretooth and gives Tony a charming smile.

Tony was trying _not_ to look at Sabretooth. "Great," he mutters. Then he brightens. "Hey, Gambit, aren't you supposed to be an X-Man?"

Gambit, this time, looks a little stumped. 

"What can I say?" he answers. "I got bored."

Tony nods. "I respect that. Kind of. So, where do you folks want to start your fruitless search?"

"Unless you're going to give Sabretooth a Wolverine to worry, I'd say _knowing everything you know_ might come in handy." Gambit crosses his arms and looks as neutral as it is possible for someone to look, wearing that much pink.

"Easy," Tony says. "Because we don't know anything. They were here last night and gone today. As far as we know, nothing happened, nothing went wrong, nothing changed."

"So." Gambit shrugs. "Show us nothing going wrong. You have cameras, don't you?"

"Of course," Tony says, annoyed. "Only in the public areas, though, not in the suites, because that’s _weird._ The house is all run by a computer. He controls the cameras. But there's nothing in his memory banks about the twins. I mean, _nothing_. It's like they're retroactively stopped existing for him."

Mystique hisses. God damn it.

"Well, I'm sorry your technology's a dud, my friend," Gambit says cheerfully. "We'll just have to look around the old-fashioned way. The charming Mr. Barton was just about to show us to their rooms."

"Yeah," Clint says. " _Rooms._ Getting right on that."

"Great," Tony says with expansive and forced cheerfulness. "You are, of course, allowed to go wherever you want in the Tower." He looks at Sabretooth when he says it.

"If it makes you feel better to give us permission, go ahead," Sabretooth snaps.

"You are, I reiterate, the most gracious hosts," Gambit says. He gives an especial smile to Natasha. "We'll be the perfect guests, don't worry your heads a minute."

Natasha and Mystique both bare their teeth.

"If you need anything, just address the house," Natasha says.

"His name is JARVIS," Tony adds. "Good luck. We want to find them, too."

"But of course," says Gambit.

"Come on," Clint says. "This way."


	41. creed sniffs out a wolverine and leaves disappointed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Creed thinks he's never hated anything as much as when Logan is dismissive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings: suggested dubcon, ableism (mental health), child abuse, bad families

As soon as the Avengers get the hell out of his way and Mystique and Gambit think he's in his room, Victor Creed goes hunting.

He's been able to smell Logan since he came in. Wasting time placating the fucking Avengers stretched his patience just about to the breaking point. He needs his claws in something.

He winds up outside Logan's door within three minutes of getting loose from Mystique. He thinks about scratching on it, but instead, he knocks. Logan answers almost before Creed's fist hits the door.

"Knew you'd be here," he says roughly. "You got anything to say worth hearing, or am I just gonna kick the shit out of you and you'll stay out of my way the rest of the time you're here?"

"Don't think any of that sounds likely," Creed says, grinning. "You look like shit. Who's been getting their claws in you?" Logan always looks the same, but Creed can tell the difference. He’s _miserable._

"Since the last time you were around?" Logan growls. He's holding onto the door, halfway through it like he's all ready to shove Creed out. Creed leans in, shoulder angled toward Logan. He wants inside. 

"I haven’t been around you, lately,” he says, “but I've been around Pietro."

Logan slams his fist against the door and grabs Creed by the collar. 

"I know you're fucking with me, and _don't,"_ he snarls.

It hurts. Creed’s jacket digging into his neck, and Logan treating him like a stranger. But he's not about to show it.

"He's such a good kid," Creed laughs. "And I'm just his type. So're you. Monsters."

"Don't think I don't know that," Logan says. His claws inch out towards Creed's throat. "Why're you here, Creed?"

"I'm here because Magneto wants us here," Creed says sweetly. "And I'm in your damn room because I want to know why you're suddenly an Avenger. Or are you just looking out for your boy-toy?"

"He's _not,"_ Logan starts, and checks himself. Creed gets under his skin. He knows that. He should be used to it by now. "Yeah, I'm looking out for somebody. Better'n always being the dog on the end of someone's chain."

"Least when you've got a master, you're not _alone_ ," Creed says, no longer laughing.

"Not everyone's gotta be willing to kill before someone'll exchange two words with 'em," Logan says.

"Not everyone," Creed agrees. "But seems to me that comes with the territory for both of us. You gonna let me talk, or do I have to force my way in?"

Wolverine glowers at him, claws pressing against Creed's skin, and then pulls back abruptly.

"Fine," he says shortly. "Last thing I want is one of your scenes."

Creed thinks he's never hated anything as much as when Logan is dismissive. As if Logan's so much better. As if Logan's different at all.

"Fuck you," he spits, pushing into the room. "You don't like my scenes? Then don't fucking play. But I'm here now, and I'm going to find those kids. You can’t stop that. And you're going to have to deal with whatever comes next."

Logan growls. " _Whatever comes next?_ Are you so stupid that you think Magneto will let you _touch_ those kids? He'd fucking kill you." Logan knows as well as anyone how little Magneto cares for Pietro, but this is a PR stunt, and he won't let anything ruin the image of Magneto, doting father.

Creed laughs, but it comes out a little pained. "You really think I'm that big an asshole, don't you?" Maybe he is.

Logan says, "I know plenty about what you're willing to do."

"There's a lot I'd do to _you_ ," Creed says. He's in the room now, so he can say whatever the hell he wants. His heart isn't really in it, though. Logan's holier-than-thou act is the most boring one. And the one that's the hardest to recover from.

Logan doesn't look impressed, anyway. He knows Creed. Creed is an animal. But he's known Creed a long time, too, and he can't work up a lot of fear over something so familiar. He imagines it's like dried blood over a wound; you have to give it a good twist before it really does worse than itch.

"So what do you want?" he asks. "Right now."

"I know it ain't your birthday," Creed says, "but I could still throw you up against the wall and fuck you senseless." It's a weak shot.

"That's it?" Logan says flatly. "If you don't have anything real to say to me, I sure as hell don't have anything to say to you. If that's all you've got, you can walk yourself out that door again."

Logan's great at making Creed feel like shit, and the worst part is that when he's doing the best at it, he doesn't even realize he's doing it.

"What do you think happened to them?" Creed asks after a second.

Logan is so surprised that Creed is actually sort of dropping it that he almost forgets to answer.

"Don't know," he says. He thinks Wanda's magic went wrong--or, more accurately, that _Wanda_ went wrong --but he doesn't want to say that to anybody on Magneto's team.

Creed examines the ceiling thoughtfully. Then he says, "Yeah. But you do, right? We all _know_. She went nuts." It's been a long time coming.

"Well, with such a great family life," Logan says. "You know a bad upbringing can fuck a kid up." This time he's being mean on purpose, but it never helps. Half the time, it doesn't work.

Creed laughs, this time not bothered at all. "No shit. But at least when they chain you up in the basement, you can bitch about it later. What's Wanda gonna bitch about? That he was over-protective? Because that's all it looks like."

"They'll say it was all the running around in the wild she did with her brother before _dad_ ever decided to give a damn," Logan growls.

"When we all know that's usually the best thing that can happen to someone," Creed says.

"Yeah, yeah, I ruined your life," Logan says. "I got it already." He crosses his arms, twitchy and irritable. "If Magneto fucks up Pietro's any more than he already has, I'll make him pay for it."

"Like hell you will," Creed says. It wouldn't exactly end his world if someone took care of Magneto. Not that he wants it to happen, either. But it doesn't matter. "I've seen you try to take him on. Your powers aren't exactly at their best against him."

"I don't have to kill him," Logan snarls.

Creed shrugs, not agreeing or disagreeing. "Let's face it, Pietro's pretty much fucked no matter what. And he doesn't want you looking out for him."

"Lay off it," Logan says. He doesn't want to argue. _He never said to stop_ and _You don't have to fuck people to look out for them_ both sound pretty fucking bad. He feels bad already, without Creed confirming everything he feels bad about.

Creed shakes his head. "Everyone makes bad choices sometimes, but your taste in mates is about the worst I've ever seen. Worse than mine, even."

"Kid needed somebody on his side," Logan says. Justifying himself. He shouldn't be justifying himself. It can't be done. "I just wanted to slow him down, keep him safe."

"It would be way too easy to remind you how that turned out," Creed says. Logan always picks the broken ones and they always wind up dead, is what he’s saying. Logan never learns. Creed doesn't even know about Stane, Logan is sure of it. Which makes it worse.

"It's a hell of a lot better than what anyone else was doing," he snarls. He's handing Creed weapons every time he bites, but Creed's always been his weak point. He can't keep smart around him.

"Guess that's the best kids like Pietro get," Creed says smugly.

"Maybe," Logan says. He thinks Pietro's new people are doing better than that (just because Wanda went haywire doesn't mean they aren't better than that). He doesn't really feel in the mood to defend Tony Stark or Victor von Doom to Creed, though, or like giving Creed any information he doesn't somehow already have.

"Well," Creed says, frustrated, "I hope you find 'em first. Because I don't want to be the one who tells that little witch she has to come home." He's perfectly prepared to let anyone else do the dirty work on this one. They haven't all seen how intense Wanda can be.

"What, she’s gonna object? I thought Genosha wasn't a prison," Logan says. "You feeling a little tied down, there, Victor?"

"No," Creed lies. "That's not the point. The point is, I don't want to tell her anything she doesn't like. Next time I'll be the one getting blinked out of existence."

"Who says she's gonna go anywhere, no matter who says it?" Logan asks. "Pretty sure she's an adult with a lot of muscle on her side. Magneto might have stage presence, but other than that, what’s he got? _You?_ Like ya said, you're not in a position to get that girl anywhere she doesn't wanna be. And you seem pretty sure she doesn't wanna go _home."_

Creed shrugs. "Yeah. None of those kids do. Well, maybe Lorna, but she doesn't know any better. Hey, I trust Magneto to take care of my civil rights and all that bullshit, but I wouldn't want him for my dad. You know damn well the reason I stick with him is that he lets me be...you know, the way you won't be."

"Yeah, I know," Logan says, a cross between disgusted and disappointed. He's already followed every course of this conversation a thousand times. Creed can be better than an animal, you don't get civil rights by cutting yourself off from the majority (even if you deserve to hate their guts), Magneto doesn't protect anything but his ideals. It's all pointless. 

"Wish you weren't here," he says.

Creed almost says, _Yeah, me too_. Instead he says, "Wish you weren't. Make my job a hell of a lot easier. I'm gonna go find Gambit and see how much I can get away with maiming him while we do this fucking charade of a search."

"You know he only sent you to fuck with both of us, right?" Logan says.

"No," Creed says without much enthusiasm. He has to say no, though, because otherwise why is he staying with Magneto?

"Okay," Logan shrugs. "Sure." He feels tired as hell. "I know he wants it ugly, but it's not gonna help you if this gets ugly. Just keep that in mind."

"I know you think I'm an idiot," Creed snaps. "Just stay out of my way. I don't think they're gonna turn up alive, anyway."

Logan shrugs, and holds the door open. He doesn't think the twins are dead. If they'd really been blipped from existence, it wouldn't just be JARVIS that couldn't remember them. And Latveria exists too, sort of--the embassy is still here. They just can't get into the country. Logan's best guess is that Wanda just went underground, maybe for this exact reason. Maybe she finally figured out Pietro is the right team to be on, and she didn't want to go home.

But Logan doesn't want to say that, either, and he's not less creeped out and angry at Wanda even if it's true.

Creed shoulders his way past Logan, running into him on purpose. He wanted a fight, and instead he got this. Now he really needs someone to hurt. Since he can't get away with hurting the twins or the Avengers, he's going to bat Gambit around a little.

"See you," he says as he stalks off down the hall. He probably will. He and Logan are bad at staying out of each other's way.


	42. jessica drew has hydra's attention

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: explicit f/f sex, dubcon/seduction, pre-consent groping, transmisogyny, gendered language, dieting

Jessica gets home feeling like shit. She knew this would probably happen, of course she did. _Destroy HYDRA_ is out of their league, and other stuff always comes up. She's not even that mad at Carol, except for how Carol kept nervously talking over her. That’s kind of a cop-out, and she wishes Carol wouldn’t pull that shit. She feels unsettled and crappy and everyone knows it, and feels bad, and they still can't do anything about it, and she hates that, too. 

She doesn't get any calls the rest of the day, so she watches a couple of dumb movies and eats junk food. Danny's fault. She's been a careful eater lately, but the post-Viper ice cream really did her in.

It's just getting dark out when her living room light suddenly goes out.

She jumps up in a hurry--she didn't hear a pop, and she can still see lights on in the next building. Could've been a circuit, but it's better to be paranoid and look silly, in her experience.

"Hello, Spider-Woman."

Not paranoia, then.

Viper doesn't waste time trying to hide herself. She doesn't know the full extent of Jessica's powers, and it's not fully dark yet. She steps into in the living room doorway, smiling.

" _What?"_ Jessica says, so angry and anxious that she doesn't stutter.

"Hello," Viper repeats serenely. She steps into the room. "You don't make much of an effort to hide your personal information, considering. I found your address without breaking a sweat." Her heels click on the floorboards as she walks.

"Doesn't matter, does it?" Jessica says, even though it alarms her to think Viper might not be lying. "No one gives enough of a shit about Spider-Woman to dig up who else she might have been."

"And I don't give a shit, either," Viper says. "Don't worry, I'm a little more invested in who you might be next." She's close enough to be in Jessica's personal space now.

Jessica holds still. Sudden movements get you bit, right? "That's cute. What exactly about our last conversation made you think _dinner date?"_

"I don’t let other people make calls on my relationships," Viper says. "I make them myself. And I've decided I'd like to see you."

"I don't think I'm that interested in seeing you," Jessica says.

"Let me change your mind," Viper says, and she slams Jessica against a wall.

Jessica gasps, but she recovers fast. 

"That’s your pitch? You're joking," she says.

"You know I don't do that," Viper says. She squeezes Jessica's upper arm. "You're strong. But I'm stronger."

"There is absolutely nothing you could possibly want from me," Jessica spits.

"You're wrong," Viper says calmly. "Let's start with a kiss and end with how I want more from you than any of your so-called friends do."

"Wh-what?" Jessica says, more limply.

"We miss you," Viper says casually. "We need your skills. And I want to fuck you. Deal?" She slides her hand under Jessica's shirt.

Jessica yelps and slides sideways against the wall to get away, batting at Viper's hand.

"Fuck _you,"_ she says unevenly. "What the hell, you think you're going to convince me to go back to HYDRA by getting in my pants? I don't _want_ you in my pants!"

"I'm perfectly prepared to change your mind about both of those things," Viper says, stalking after her. "Because correct me if I'm wrong, little darling, but no one else really wants to get in your pants, or on your team."

"Personal potshots, that's gonna do it," Jessica says. She's fleeing a little, in her own apartment, and it's really embarrassing, but she hardly knew what to do with Viper in the best of times.

"I'm not like them," Viper says, her voice low and smooth. "I want you for your skills, not to fulfill some team gender quota." She blocks Jessica in against the couch, tilting her hips against Jessica's.

Jessica bites her lip and tries hard not to whimper. "I'm not a--quota," she says. Rough day. Pathetic.

"Not to me," Viper says, her hand back on Jessica's arm. "You're a soldier. Everyone who works for HYDRA is. And let's face it, it's nicer to work for someone you can't surprise. Not in any way."

Jessica flinches. 

"You were spying on me," she says. "Before we came after you."

Viper smiles slowly. "Flattering, isn't it? To know that I still care. And I do care, Jess." She slides her knee between Jessica's legs.

Jessica knees her in the gut. "This won't work," she snaps. "I'm not a sixteen-year-old girl in some pretty jock's car. You can't just..."

"Baby, please, you're exactly that insecure," Viper snaps, holding her stomach. "Can't fault you for it. But I can't ignore it, either."

Jessica shivers, her jaw tight. 

Viper straightens up. She grabs Jessica's hip and leans in to kiss her ear. "Mm. That's better."

"You sure _you_ don't hate it?" Jessica asks, like the answer won't hurt. But if it didn't hurt, she would have asked the whole question.

"Do I look like someone who wastes my own time?" Viper demands. "What's to hate?"

That takes the wind out of Jessica's sails. She stares at Viper with her mouth open and can't think of anything to say. Which is upsetting, weirdly enough, but she can't settled down right this second and figure out _why._

"You're a good fighter with a cute body," Viper says. "You have the best training everyone offers. You’re brilliant. Kiss me." 

The problem is not that Viper is rude and violent and proud and she works for an organization Jessica remember to hate almost all of the time. The problem is that she's gorgeous and familiar and Jessica could never stop looking at her, when they were younger and Jessica didn't feel right yet. The problem is also that Jessica thinks maybe somehow _Viper_ is right.

She kisses Viper, and it's her choice, and she doesn't feel shitty enough to stop.

Viper slides her hands down Jessica's body, from her shoulder to her hip, still kissing her. "Mm," she murmurs into her mouth. "You've really filled out."

"Eating too much junk food," Jessica mutters, tilting her head to bare her neck. This is a terrible idea, a completely terrible idea. But she's caring less and less every second.

Viper takes the invitation and sucks on Jessica's neck, grabbing Jessica's wrists so she can't squirm away. She bites down hard enough to leave a mark. Jessica jerks in her grip, but she doesn't try to pull away, just pushes back and tries to get her mouth on Viper's skin.

Viper lets her. "Good girl," she mutters, pleased. "Now let's get you a little more naked." She pushes Jessica's shirt up over her breasts.

A surprise panic uncoils itself in Jessica's chest, and she jerks back, trying to cover herself. There's one tiny part of her cursing herself for being stupid and weak, but the rest is dizzy with terror. 

This is as far as you go before nothing is good enough.

"Wait," Viper says, frowning. "For fuck's sake. Is this the way the world has made you? Let us give you HYDRA at your back and you won't be afraid anymore. I'm not here to rank your tits on a scale from one to ten." She whips off her own top in one fluid motion. "There. Me first. See? Not perfect."  
Jessica would like to (strongly) disagree, but she feels too embarrassingly grateful to be envious. She hugs herself.

"Not everyone has that attitude, okay?" she tells Viper. "I'm not being stupid for acting like you might not be--safe. You know. You. A _supervillain."_

"I know," Viper says. "It just pisses me off. You should be able to trust another woman. I don't put up with anything less at HYDRA, and that's not propaganda. That's the truth."

"That would be a hell of a lot more comforting if I thought they liked you," Jessica says.

Viper shrugs and smiles unpleasantly. "They don’t have to like me."

Well, that doesn't give Jessica a lot of hope that Viper is taking HYDRA in a peaceful new direction.

"You shouldn't be here," she says uncomfortably. "If you don't beat it soon I'm going to call my team."

"If you call your team, they're going to find you naked under me and laugh at you for being so weak," Viper says, grabbing Jessica's jaw roughly. "They will laugh, Jess. Trust me. I watch people." She kisses her. 

Jessica doesn't believe it. She really doesn't--Bobbi and T'Challa will be embarrassed, and Luke and Danny will be horrified and protective, and Jess will be horribly professional, and Carol will be jealous and pissed off and will blame Jessica completely, and call her a traitor. Which she will be. It's all as bad as being laughed at.

She pulls back.

"You don't pity me, right?" she asks.

"You're a superhero, idiot," Viper says. "What's to pity, except that you’re on the wrong team?"

That's annoying enough that Jessica has to grab her by the back of the neck and pull her into a sharp, toothy kiss. Viper kisses back, just as hard, tangling one hand in Jessica's hair. The other finds the zipper of Jessica's pants. Jessica hopes Viper can't hear her muttering, " _Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you,"_ into Viper's mouth.

"Got you," Viper says, and it's impossible to tell from her inflection what she means. She shoves Jessica down on the couch and straddles her, hand still pressed against her crotch.

Jessica moans, wriggling, and then grabs Viper's shoulder to drag her back down. Viper goes down easily. She bites Jessica's bottom lip and drags her nails across Jessica's stomach. Jessica hasn't--Viper is right, and it kills her --hasn't been touched like this in years, and she can hardly stand the sheer amount of sensation. So she whines and twists and accidentally punches Viper in the face.

Viper recoils, swearing. When she realizes Jessica didn't do it on purpose, she laughs. "Jesus. You're really a handful. I can be rougher. It's a little easier to take if it's rougher."

Jessica flushes. After a second, she says. "Yeah. That might be better. If I can tell you when to stop."

"Of course you can," Viper says. She pauses. "And I'll do it. Now let me take your clothes off."

Jessica shivers, but she doesn't fight or freak or swear, or even punch Viper a second time.

Viper gets Jessica naked fast, before she can change her mind. Then she takes her own pants off, pressing against Jessica as she does so.

She hauls Jessica's head back by the hair and bites her ear, straddling her stomach and digging her nails hard into Jessica's hip.

Jessica gasps and claws, at the couch, at Viper, at herself. She strains upwards, pushing her tits against Viper's and tightening her thighs around Viper's waist.

"Yes," Viper hisses, "Yes, let me in, bitch." She cups one of Jessica's breasts and twists the nipple between her fingers.

Jessica shouts, and bucks against her. 

“You still have sensation,” Viper says, pleased.

"You were always--such an _asshole,"_ Jessica gasps.

"A successful asshole," Viper agrees. She slides off Jessica and kneels in front of her.

Jessica pushes herself upright and looks down at Viper with color in her cheeks.

"You don't, I don't know if I--can we do this in bed?" she asks.

Viper shrugs and gets to her feet. "Of course. Come on." She grabs Jessica's arm and streets her into the bedroom without asking which room it is, worryingly.

"Oh, god," Jessica says. "You're a fucking stalker. I'm fucking my fucking stalker." She climbs onto the bed, though, and lies down on her back with her legs stretched out.

Viper smirks and crawls on top of her. "Open your legs." She pushes them apart, sliding her hands up the inside of Jessica's thighs.

Jessica moans and throws her head back. It takes all her effort not to slam her knees together and kick the crap out of Viper. Viper can probably tell, the way Jessica's breath is hitching.

"This is how it should be," Viper breathes, holding Jessica's legs apart. She leans in and bites Jessica's hip. "Not a militaristic feminist who doesn't think that includes you. Not some well-meaning thug who's only seen people like you in _porn_. They don't know the meaning of the word _team_."

Jessica chokes on her own objections, digging her nails into the pillows. The only sound she can make is little and pathetic, and it's not, _You're wrong._

Viper slides her hand up between Jessica's legs, firm and steady so it won't be too much. "You look good," she says. "But not everyone will care."

Jessica sobs, and she clamps her legs around Viper's hands.

"That, that's not," she starts, but she doesn't even know if she disagrees. She can't disagree.

"I want to look after you," Viper urge her, pushing her legs open again. "If you come back to HYDRA, that's what I'll do. We take care of our own." She pushes the tip of one finger in.

Jessica yelps, loudly. 

" _Why?"_ she demands. She's on the edge of tears, and Viper's hands on her feel _so good,_ and Carol is going to kill her, and Carol doesn't deserve _anything_ from her.

 _She apologized,_ Jessica remembers, but Viper's finger sliding into her is too much, and she can't focus on anything else.

"Because you're ours," Viper says as she slides her finger slowly all the way in. "Because we need your skills and you need our backup. Because we're a _real_ team, not one that hints to each other behind your back about who you are."

"What?" Jessica gasps unsteadily, and then moans as Viper moves her finger at a good angle. She doesn’t think she feels as much as some people, but it’s enough, enough to be dizzying.

"Iron Fist," Viper says, reaching up to squeeze one of Jessica's breasts. "That's the one who broke in, isn't it? He's too curious. He thinks Power Man knows something, and they're going to keep talking around it until they talk right into it."

"No one calls him Power Man," Jessica says automatically, but her heart is in her throat. She doesn't think Danny would do anything to hurt her, not on purpose. He's too _nice._ But he's a man, a macho, rich-kid man, and just because he likes fucking Luke doesn't mean he's not--

She doesn't want _anyone_ to know. Does Luke know?

"My mistake," Viper says apathetically. She pushes another finger in, rubbing Jessica with her thumb. "Listen, some of them may even want the best for you, but I can promise you they don't know what that is. How many of them know anything at all about transgender people, Jessica?"  
"Can't do more than two," Jessica says in a rush. Two fingers is uncomfortable enough. She never _does_ this. What she does do isn't equivalent, just necessary. Sex is both more pleasurable and more frightening.

"Got it," Viper says, focused. "I'm going to make you come, Jess. And then you're coming home."

Jessica moans, going pliant and shivery under her touch. She ought to be looking, but her eyes are screwed shut, and all she can latch onto are Viper's voice and Viper's hands.

Viper shuts up and fucks Jessica with her fingers, leaning down to lick at her hips and inner thighs.

Jessica hears herself getting louder and louder. If her team is spying on her instead of chasing after Wanda ( _Why would they?_ ), they'll come in exactly like Viper said they would. She doesn't think any of them would be on her side right now.

"Please, touch, my," she gasps, but she can't choose and she can't manage any more words.

"Got you," Viper says again, and this time it's not as if Jessica would pick up on her intonation anyway. She keeps her fingers inside and bends her head to lick Jessica's clit.

Jessica jerks and sobs, and she thinks for a few seconds it'll be too much and just rub her raw. But maybe Viper's right and rough is what she needs. She's angry and shivering and everyone in the world is a filthy liar, and Viper twists her fingers just the right way and Jessica doubles up screaming into her hands.

Viper holds onto her until she's done. Then she says, "If you want to shower and get some sleep, you can always come by in the morning. Or if you're afraid of changing your mind, you could just come now." No question, just the certainty that Jessica will do what she says.

"I can't," Jessica says, almost pleadingly. "I can't come with you. I'm not HYDRA. I _like_ my team."

"Do they like you?" Viper asks baldly. "Would any of them look at you the way I do?"

"I don't _need_ them to," Jessica says. She rolls out from under Viper and pulls a blanket around herself. "They're not a dating service."

"Tell me," Viper says, getting dressed herself, "how _do_ dating services work out for you? I'll bet they don't. And your team doesn't work as a team. I can do both."

"Fuck off," Jessica says, not very emphatically, suddenly miserable and worn out. She scrubs her hand through her hair and wonders where her nearest pants are. "You showed yourself in, I guess you can show yourself out. And maybe turn the lights back on when you go."

"My offer expires in twenty-four hours," Viper says. "I like you, but I'm not sentimental. When it's done, it's done. The door's closed. Don't make me regret coming here. More importantly, don't give yourself anything to regret." She kisses Jessica's cheek.

Jessica glances up at her, shaken. "I won't be there," she says. She doesn't think Viper will believe her, but she means it. She's not HYDRA anymore.

"Just make sure you don't wind up with _every_ door closed," Viper says. "I've been watching them."

Jessica doesn't answer.

"I'll miss you if you don't show up," Viper says. "I should probably go."

"Yeah," says Jessica. "Probably." She bites back on _thanks._

"Good luck," Viper says. She squeezes Jessica arm and leaves the bedroom. She doesn't turn the living room light back on when she goes. Naturally.

Jessica sits on the edge of her bed with her blanket on and tries to decide if she's going to cry. But she never makes up her mind, and eventually she goes to bed.


	43. jessica drew makes a decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "She what?" Carol asks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: transmisogyny, ref to coming out, gendered language

The meeting next morning is even more miserable than Jessica expects. Every time she looks at anyone else she feels like shit. She fucking betrayed them, on the one hand. On the other, she's not sure any of them is on _her side._ Her only goal for today is to get through this meeting and talk to Carol alone before anything else can go wrong. It's starting out badly, though--Danny and T'Challa are telecommuting, and it takes about thirty agonizing minutes just to get the setup working. Which probably never happens to the Avengers.

Jess and Luke and Bobbi, meanwhile, are acting all serious and official about something important that they didn't call her in on. And Carol is being a bitch.

"Okay, everyone," Carol snaps, when they've got T'Challa and Danny onscreen. It jolts Jessica out of the anxious daze she’s working on. 

“Hit me with what you've got,” Carol says, “if we don't all die of old age first. T'Challa first." Practically all she's done since setting up this team, she thinks, is bark orders and then sit around for a couple of days at a time.

"You will be pleased I think to know that Latveria is not gone," T'Challa says, his spirits seeming only slightly dampened by the failures of technology and Carol's bad mood. "Although it is impossible to stop within its borders or even register a journey through it, the surrounding lands still lie at the same coordinates. The space is not missing or claimed by other, morphing territories; it is simply out of reach."

"Yeah," says Danny. "As far as I can tell, the whole population of Latveria is still running around having as much of a ball as they ever do. I know they're in there--I just can't _reach_ them."

"That's great!" Carol says, surprised. She honestly didn't expect it. "That's pretty much the _best_ scenario we were looking at, depending on where Wanda and her brother are in all of this."

"My guess would be, in the middle," says Danny. "I wanna hang around and see if I get any better--uh, readings. About Wanda, specifically."

"You stay safe, hear me?" Luke says, leaning forward until he's almost touching the screen.

Carol tries to control her temper. "He knows what he's doing, Luke."

Jess pets Luke's neck and smiles at Danny. 

Danny says, "You know, this would be a lot easier if I were Professor X. You sure we can't enlist Professor X and then immediately mindwipe him before he makes all these shenanigans worse?"

Jess laughs, but half because Danny would never use a word like "shenanigans" if he wasn’t anxious. It's slightly outside his range.

"You two are doing beautifully," she says. T'Challa smiles, somewhat indulgently. Jessica, peeking over her arm at the screen from where she's curled up in her chair, feels a jolt of panicky heartsickness. He's too _nice,_ and she is such a fuckup.

"You really are," Carol says, which is jarring for its timing. "I didn't expect this much progress. I'll let the Avengers know."

Bobbi isn't looking at the screen. Instead, she edges down the couch until she's at the end nearest Jessica. "Hey," she says quietly. "You good?"

Jessica looks at her quickly and says, nearly in a whisper, "Rough night. Just need to talk to Carol." She manages a quick smile. "Thanks."

Bobbi nods, looking worried. "No problem."

"All right, let's hear a report from Jess and Bobbi," Carol says, only leaving Luke out because he's still making gooey eyes at Danny and it's annoying.

"Things are looking pretty good at the moment," Jess says. "The big semi-legitimate media noise is at the Daily Bugle--no surprise there. They're going the anti-everybody route, and that's not the kind of stuff that sticks. They have a couple good pictures, but still. If we can find the kids, they'll be back on our side in a second. If not, we've got bigger problems." She shrugs. "For the most part, I think there's the usual online buzz, but nothing serious or seriously condemnatory. We haven't reached the toxic stage yet." No doubt they will.

"The mutant community's worried," Bobbi adds, "but not casting stones. Sounds like people mostly figure it's between Magneto and his family, and nobody wants to get in the middle of that. Besides, all the extremists are already on his team."

Jessica stirs enough to realize she doesn't know what's going on. "Wait," she says. "What the hell? Magneto _knows?"_

Everyone looks at her blankly. 

Danny says, "Did no one...tell you that?" Jess gives him a look, and he says, "I was in a plane! I was sensing invisible Latverians! I was not in charge of telling her that!"

"Shit," Carol says. "Okay, so I really fell down on the job of keeping everyone up-to-date." She actually focuses on Jessica. She's clearly still not feeling great. "He got Mystique in their base, and now he's got his people moving in. He's playing the wounded dad, basically."

"Oh," Jessica says, since she realizes she should say something. "Oh. That's pretty bad, I guess."

"Jessica," Carol says sharply, "are you okay?"

"Nothing," Jessica says, but that's not quite it. "I mean, yes. Didn't get a lot of sleep. Didn't know I was so out of the loop. I'll catch up in just a second."

"My fault," Carol says guiltily. "So that's what we know. T'Challa, Danny, any sign of Magneto's people near Latveria? I want to know how much they know."

"Nothing," Danny says. "As far as we can tell from here, the Avengers have managed to keep Loki and Doom off Magneto's radar. Which I guess is not that surprising, since the Avengers seem to keep them off _everyone's_ radar." As far as most of the world that's heard of them is concerned, Loki and Doctor Doom are still supervillains, and the Avengers can't stand them. Danny thinks keeping the buzz directed thataway is either brilliant or really stupid on the part of the Avengers.

"Great," Carol says. "So we're one step ahead. Let's just try to stay that way. Danny, I want you to do what you said and keep trying to feel out what's going on with Wanda. Everyone else is still on damage control." She glances at Jessica and adds, "If they feel up to it."

Jessica bites her lip and tries not to feel horrendously hurt.

"Right, boss," Danny says.

"Take care, you two," Jess says. Danny and T'Challa grin at her.

"Naturally we will," T'Challa says.

"Keep in touch," Luke says.

As the meeting breaks up, Carol stands awkwardly, feeling like she should be doing something else. Giving them all moral support or something. But they're actually carrying out their tasks beautifully. Jessica's the only one who looks like shit.

Jessica goes down the stairs in front of Carol, but she waits for Carol to catch up. She says, "Listen--"

Carol grinds to a halt. "Oh no, what?" She knew she was missing something. She knew something was horribly wrong.

"I," Jessica says, and nearly stalls out. Where the fuck is she supposed to start? She can remember Carol naked and Carol screaming at her as two bright, sharp memories that won't come apart. They're not a team. They're not friends. "Listen, I know you don't really want to deal with HYDRA right now, but I really think--"

"Jessica," Carol says, trying to be patient, "we don't have the resources. I need everyone to be doing what they're doing, and the last thing we can afford is you going after them alone. Please don't do that." She should have checked in better after their first meeting about this. She should have made sure Jessica was going to be okay.

"But they know I was there," Jessica tries. "Viper, she--"

"She what?" Carol asks. She puts her hand on Jessica's arm. "Hey, easy."

"She knows I was there," Jessica finishes. "She doesn't let things go, Carol, I really think we have to deal with them."

Carol frowns. "Do you think she'd be able to figure out where you lived?" Stupid question. It's HYDRA. Their resources are pretty limitless.

Jessica flushes and she can't speak for a second. "I just—I just think maybe it's stupid to act like they're not going to go after us for being in their base," she snaps.

Carol winces. "Okay, granted. Do you want to stay somewhere else for a while until this blows over? Or at least until we can tackle it?"

" _No,"_ Jessica says. What _does_ she want? "Did you--tell Luke about me?"

For a second Carol can't think what Jessica's talking about. Then she gets it. "No! No, I wouldn't do that!" As if that's so obvious.

Jessica shrugs, hugging herself. "Okay, fine. I didn't know. I just thought...maybe people were talking. I didn't know how else they would know."

Carol rubs her temples. "I didn't say anything. I swear. But Luke's a smart guy. Maybe he figured something out. Why, did he say something to you?"

"No, I just--" Jessica unfolds her arms and sort of shakes her fists at the ground. "Are we even gonna go back to HYDRA after this?"

Carol takes a deep breath. "Jessica...Look, I didn't think it was a great project to take on in the first place. Your mission with Danny made that even more obvious. If you want to stay with Luke or Bobbi or something until it you think HYDRA's given up, feel free, but I don't think we should go back to it."

"You didn't--" Jessica starts. "You _said_ it was great."

"I'm the leader," Carol says. "I can't afford to be wishy-washy, and I can't afford mistakes. I made one, and I'm correcting it before it gets anyone _really_ hurt."

Jessica feels like her whole self freezes up, for just a second. She barely thaws enough to say, "You don't think HYDRA matters?"

"Not really," Carol says. She's not happy about it, but she has to stick to her guns. "I mean, they're big, they're bad, but they're not something _we_ can effectively deal with. We just need to get ourselves off their radar."

"Easy as pie," says Jessica flatly. "Thanks, Carol."

"Just take care of yourself," Carol says stiffly. "You don't look like you've been doing a great job of that, and I need everyone in top condition if Magneto comes down on us."

"Well, you know," Jessica says, like she's not even in control of her own voice, "it's not one of my strong suits, but I'll do my best. I'd hate to disappoint."

Carol can see that Jessica isn't okay, but she doesn't know what the hell to do about it, or even if she'd be allowed. Besides, she can't help but feel that Jessica's overreacting a little. Taking down HYDRA was always a little bit of a stretch.

"Just show up at the next meeting in one piece," she says. "Okay? That's an order." She shouldn't revert to military protocol when she's upset, but it helps calm her down.

"Yes, sir," Jessica says, although it barely gets out of her mouth. "I guess you'll let me know if you need me. I'm going home to take a shower."

"Great plan," Carol says, trying to trick herself into feeling relieved. "Get you back in shape. I'll see you soon." She claps Jessica on the shoulder and strides off in the direction of home.

Jessica glances up at the second floor apartment (their _base_ ), and then turns to home as well.

She _does_ take a shower. She checks the clock, cleans herself up, puts on her suit, and pulls a sweater and a comfy pair of jeans over top of it. She leaves everything else, including her wallet and her keys. She shuts the apartment door when she goes.

Then she goes back to Madame Hydra.


	44. the avengers don't think they really like houseguests

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I was going to drag this out a little, but you're too sincere to be any fun."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: implied rough sex

Gambit wakes up in his fancy Avengers Hotel suite feeling surprisingly good for the amount of sleep he's gotten. If you manage to get through an entire _encounter_ with Sabretooth without dying a violent death (only a little bit of one), he thinks, you owe yourself a little pride. And while he was snooping around afterwards, he found out at _least_ two things the Avengers wouldn't like him to know. They’ve been making some friends who really won’t play well with the public, in any sense.

He's also pleased, on a personal note, that Tony Stark's oh so impressive technology couldn’t stop him. 

He gets up, takes a shower, remembers they haven't put any food in these rooms, and goes off to the kitchen. Anyone watching him now might wonder how he got to be so confident, moving around this building like he actually lives there. But if they wonder, he can annoy them into forgetting.

When Gambit gets to the kitchen, Tony is there. He's wearing sweatpants, a tank-top, and socks, because even if they're in crisis, he's going to have his morning protein shake in comfort. Besides, there's not much heavy lifting he can do on their current assignment.

He's engrossed in pressing buttons and doesn't notice when Gambit walks in. Gambit sidles right up behind him, waits for the blender to shut up, and then says softly, "Well, I didn't know _this_ was gonna be one of the perks of living here." He drawls a little more than usual just to see how Tony takes it.

Tony hasn't had coffee yet, so he doesn't jerk away. He just says, very fast, "Whoa, hi, where'd you come from?" Then he turns around, grins aggressively and says, "Oh yeah, you live here now. Temporarily. Sort of. Want eggs? There are eggs."

"Oh, eggs," says Gambit dismissively. "So are you'n me the only people in this place that don't sleep in? I'd have pegged Miz Romanov for an early riser, at least."

"I think she's already been and gone," Tony says, waving vaguely at the fridge. "So, found Wanda yet?"

"Not as yet," Gambit says, eyes the fridge, and snags a carton of orange juice out of it. "A few other things, maybe. You look a little run down, sugar. Bad night?"

 _Sugar_. Gambit can't be serious. No, of course he's not serious. Tony gives an extra pulse or three to the blender. "Great night, if you enjoy insomnia. Not as productive as you'd think."

"Not as productive as I _find,"_ Gambit corrects him. "Always plenty to do once you give up on going back to your sweet dreams."

"You must sleep alone," Tony says lightly. "Then again, judging by that bruise on your neck, maybe I'm wrong." It doesn't look exactly like a friendly bruise.

Gambit raises an eyebrow. "You must sleep with Captain America," he says. "Tabloids can't all be wrong, I guess."

"Jumping to conclusions," Tony says unhappily, pouring his out of the blender. He couldn't expect that to stay under wraps long. He doesn't really care, though, as long as no one gives Steve any trouble.

"Frolicking to conclusions, one might even say," Gambit says. "Don't worry, I know it's true. I know it so much I won't even flirt with you. Despite your gorgeous arm muscles."

Tony laughs. "Yeah, that's why I wear these shirts." He's annoyed with himself for getting along with Gambit, but he should have known he would. If he ever needed someone in a crisis, he knows he wouldn't call (even if Gambit were on his side), but he doesn't mind being friendly.

"You are a man who knows his armor," Gambit agrees. "Although probably not one who is going to make me eggs?"

"Make your own eggs," Tony says, not unkindly. "And let me know if you turn up anything interest I wasn't aware of."

"I wonder what you aren’t aware of?" Gambit says. He pokes around in two wrong cupboards before going for the Cheerios. "And who knows? Maybe you won’t be interested in anything I’m looking at."

Tony shrugs and takes a big sip of his shake. "I can't tell what your type is. You act like everyone is, so for all I know, you've already compiled a file of fascinating information on all of us." For some reason, the idea isn't all that threatening.

"I like to know the lay of the land," Gambit says. Bowl, spoon, reasonable amount of hestitation. He got hungry at three or so, but no one needs to know that. "If you know what I mean."

Tony gives him a big fake smile. "Oh, I know. Right back atcha. I _do_ have cameras in here, you know."

Gambit grimaces. "I am aware."

"Don't worry," Tony says, "I have a lot more important things on my mind than where you're sticking your dick. Or whatever."

"How thoughtful," Gambit says. It's possible, he thinks, that Tony believes this entire conversation is actually about sex. Sometimes his innuendo really works against him more than it helps.

Tony shakes his head. "Enjoy the cereal." He takes the rest of his shake and removes himself to another part of the Tower. So, that's Gambit up close. Way smarter than he acts, and probably way more dangerous, not least because he's so likable. Tony wonders what he's found and how he plans on using it. Well—like Tony said, there are cameras. Maybe he can run damage control, in between doing the same for whatever Mystique and Sabretooth are up to.

~

"Steve?"

Tony comes up behind Steve and slides his arms around Steve's waist. "Nice view," he says, indicating the city. "What're you thinking about?"

"Oh!" says Steve. "Aha. Didn't see you there." He turns his face back to the chilly afternoon breeze. It's a beautiful day, and even though it's still cold he can nearly smell the spring. "I was thinking about the sky," he says. "It's always the biggest in wide open places, but seeing how small the city gets next to it is a pretty good substitute." He pats Tony's hand.

Tony smiles slowly. "I was going to drag this out a little, but you're too sincere to be any fun." He changes, his skin tone deepening to dark blue and his clothes falling away.

"Sorry, Captain," Mystique says. She's still smiling, though.

Steve takes a rather hasty step back. "No offense, ma'am," he says, "but you're not really the company I was hoping for. If you don't mind, and you're done with the tricks, I'll ask you to give me a little more space."

Mystique laughs. "I was just having a little fun. Probably the only fun I can expect to have here." She extends her hand. "Truce?"

Steve frowns, but he puts out his hand. 

"If I thought you needed a handshake to pull any funny business, I wouldn't offer it," he says candidly. "But I expect you're more resourceful than that."

"I'm flattered," Mystique says. "My, not quite as firm a grip as I expected, Captain. And I must say, your abdominal muscles could use some work."

"I don't know what you _must_ do," Steve says. "But I'd appreciate if you could do it without innuendo."

He's been expecting this, since well before Magneto entered the picture. There have been tabloid headlines running for two months, about where he is and why he's gone. There have also been, independently, one headline about MYSTERIOUS SHRINKING MAN CAPTAIN AMERICA, and another about the unknown male lover (or call boy?) Tony Stark is seeing in Park Slope. No one's put it all together, though. This must be the moment when someone does.

"Tell me, Captain," Mystique says, turning to look at the city below them, "When's the last time you were part of an Avengers mission?"

"I seem to be a part of one right now," Steve says drily. His heart is hammering.

"But not in the _field_ ," Mystique says gently, laughingly. "What's the trouble, your boyfriend won't let you?" It's not her real angle of attack, but it might get more out of him.

Steve is angry now, but he keeps his voice even as he says, "Tony has enough respect for me to trust my judgment regarding my own capabilities, ma’am."

"And what are those capabilities?" Mystique asks, turning back to face him. "I hope it doesn't come to that, but do you think I could take you?"

"I couldn't say," Steve says, letting his anger show and his posture become very good. "I haven't had the opportunity to see you fight, and I don't know how much of an investment I'd have in whatever we might need to fight about." He shrugs, barely. "That can make a hell of a lot of difference in how well a man fights."

Mystique laughs. "I like you. You're much more old-fashioned than most of your teammates. For good reason, of course. What do you make of the situation with Wanda?"

She'll drop the topic of Steve's abilities for now. Until she sees another opening.

"I think," Steve says, "that I don't know what happened to her, but she's a troubled girl. It seems to me there are too many people paying attention to her family and her powers, and not enough giving any attention to her. I'll have words to say to anyone who treats her like a pawn when she's been found."

Mystique raises her eyebrows. "A man with all the right things to say." She'd normally be on Steve's (and Wanda's) side, but Magneto's side always comes first.

"I doubt everyone would say so," Steve answers, looking out over the city. "If you're wondering how much of an Avenger I am at this time, ma'am, the answer is, entirely. And there is nothing in my relationship or my physical condition that you can use to threaten that." He looks at her. "And if you try to use it against me in a more immediate sense, I doubt anyone will be on Magneto's side. It certainly won't put mutants on the sympathetic side of any greater conflict that might arise."

Whatever Mystique expected of him, she didn't expect him to be so well put together. "Well," she says lightly, "then I'll just have to talk to someone else about Wanda, if you're not feeling cooperative." She takes vicious pleasure in using Wanda as an excuse. "Maybe your little Wasp. Or Mr. Stark."

"Talk to whoever you want," Steve says, losing his temper slightly.

"I will," Mystique says, yellow eyes glittering. "We all will. I'm _sure_ Sabretooth will."

"As long as it's talk," Steve says, "I'm sure we won't have any trouble."

"You know Sabretooth," Mystique shrugs. They all know him, and she wishes he'd calm the hell down and stop himself from clawing everyone in sight, but that's beside the point.

"You know," says Steve, "I really don't. But I will be sure to get to know him. Thanks for the advice."

Steve's actually pretty frightening, even standing there small and ineffectual in front of her.

"I hope for his sake he doesn't run into you," Mystique says. "I may not like you, but I respect you."

"Let's hope that's enough," Steve says, but not as though he thinks it is.

Mystique shifts back into Tony, grins at him, spins on her heel, and leaves. She's not going to let him get the best of her. Steve stays out on the roof, clenching his hands into fists until he can breathe.


	45. jessica drew is missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She doesn't want to spend any more time in this horribly empty apartment with all of Jessica's stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: discussion of suicide

Luke is not happy. This evening's meeting is going pretty well--there's still nothing too nasty in the news, and on the ground, people seem more interested in gossiping than inciting riots. Magneto hasn't done anything drastic, or anything at all, that they can figure out. It doesn't seem like anyone's made the connection with Latveria.

Which is important, to Luke's mind, because that means Danny and T'Challa are still safe working on the borders. Not much progress, but they're safe. 

The only real problem is that Jessica isn't here, and he can see from Carol's face that Carol thinks that's a really bad thing.

He stops her from leaving when the meeting ends, and Jess takes a hint he doesn't even know he's giving and sneaks off to the bedroom.

"Where's Jessica?" Luke asks.

Carol takes a deep breath. She wishes Luke would just go the hell away and leave it, especially because she's worried sick right now and not in the mood to talk about why. "I don't know," she says finally. As if that's enough information. She barely listened during the meeting.

"You worried?" Luke asks.

"Yes!" Carol snaps. "Yes, I'm fucking worried! Do you know how broken up she was about not going after HYDRA? And if she's not here because of that, she's not here because they've done something to her."

"Whoa, whoa," Luke says, hands up. "Maybe not. She might just be pissed. You know she gets pissed."

"Pissed or really fucking miserable," Carol says furious with Jessica and Luke and herself.

"We can go check on her," Luke offers. He doesn't really want to get within ten feet of Carol when her emotions aren't completely repressed--it's dangerous--but he likes Jessica, and he doesn't want her depressed or hurt. And besides, Carol's the boss, and she seems like she needs it.

"You bet your ass we're gonna go check on her," Carol says. She was planning to go alone, but embarrassing though it is, she'd rather have backup. Ever since she proved she was an asshole, she doesn't like to let herself be around Jessica without someone else there to keep things from getting bad.

"Just checking," Luke says, and leans back to call to Jess. "Hon? We're going over to Jessica's place, all right?"

Jess emerges just slowly enough that maybe she wasn't eavesdropping. 

"Take care of yourselves," she says. "Check in, all right? Let me know if there's something wrong."

"Trust me, we will," Carol says stormily. "Come on, Luke. I'll drive."

"Great," Luke says uncertainly, but he follows her just one step behind.

Carol drives too fast, tight-lipped and white-knuckled. She doesn't know what to expect. Probably Jessica will be sulking in bed with ice cream or something. _Or dead_ , the anxiety she keeps trying to push down suggests.

"Hey," Luke says, halfway there. "I trust you and all, but my wife won't like it if you kill me."

Carol sighs and slows down a little. "Sorry, Luke. It's just--She's been so--Luke, how well do you know her?"

Luke makes himself as rocklike as possible before deciding that he won't actually turn invisible. 

"I know...a fair amount," he allows. "Are you talking temper or personal history, here?"

"Personal history," Carol says shortly. "And if you don't, the conversation ends here. But if you do, I need to know what you know. And who you've told."

"What?" Luke says sharply. "Listen, you're my boss, but there's some stuff I ain't gonna talk about unless she tells me to. But that holds true for everybody, get me? You, and Jess, and Danny. Everybody. Why?"

"Because," Carol says. "Because she thinks you and Danny know something you shouldn't. She was pretty upset about it. Not that she doesn't have a half dozen reasons to be upset right now, but I figured I'd ask."

Luke sighs. "Maybe I do. But Danny doesn't. And I ain't never said a word to Jessica. Not her, and not anybody else. I fucking wouldn't. Not my business, and I ain't in the business of getting my friends hurt, either."

"I know," Carol says miserably. "I mean, I should have known. You're _you_ , for God's sake. Well, that'll make her feel better, anyway." They're almost there.

"Hope so," Luke says. "You two--naw, that's none of my business either."

"No," Carol says quickly. "I mean, we--I fucked up. You're not dumb. You've probably filled in the blanks." God, how embarrassing. Knowing that Luke probably knows what an asshole she is feels lousy.

"I was just gonna ask if you've been okay lately," Luke says. "Recently."

"Not really," Carol says. "She's upset that I nixed the HYDRA mission. She doesn't feel safe after the break-in she and Danny did. And it matters to her."  
Luke nods, and they pull up to Jessica's building.

"Might be okay," he says. "I guess we'd better be on guard, though."

"I usually am," Carol says. She's wearing her leather bomber jacket over her costume, and she keeps an eye out while she walks up to the door and presses the buzzer.

There's no answer, not after they hit the buzzer for the third time and spend another two minutes outside.

"Are we breaking in now?" Luke asks. "Because we might want to go around the back for that."

Carol laughs, but only because she's worried. "I knew your shady past would come in handy. Let's do it."

Luke offers her a nod, even though he feels like he should be a little more gentlemanly and go for a bow. 

"Which window is it?" he asks, when they're around the back.

Carol hesitates. It's not like she comes by here every week. "That one," she says finally. "I think."

Luke frowns skeptically. "Maybe we'd be better off at the front," he says. "Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry," Carol says. "Sorry, I'm just way too nervous. What if--? God. Okay. The front."

Luke isn't really in the business of reassuring Carol Danvers, so he just trudges back to the front door and picks the lock as fast as possible.

"Ladies first," he says, opening the door for Carol.

"Sweet," Carol says dryly. She wishes anyone but Luke were here with her on this one. He's too stable. She looks like even more of a fuck-up in contrast. She slips inside and treks up the stairs to Jessica's apartment.

She knocks, although it doesn't seem likely to do any good. "Can you get us in here, too?" she asks. "I think she uses a chain."

Luke starts to pick the lock, and then realizes the door _isn't_ locked. He eases it open an inch or so, but there's no glint of a chain, either.

"Damn," he says, under his breath, and swings the door open.

"Shit," Carol whispers. She follows him in, hands glowing faintly, ready to blast any intruders to hell and back.

Luke shuts the door behind them and flips on a light. There's nothing to see, that he can tell. Stuff looks like it's wherever Jessica left it. There aren't any weird smells, and the windows aren't open or broken.

"No sign of a struggle," Carol says. "Luke, you don't think she--? Where do you think she _is_?"

"Carol, for all we know, she went out for a run," Luke says. "Maybe forgot to lock her door because she ain't feeling right."

"But I'd be a pretty shitty leader if I didn't consider alternatives," Carol snaps.

"I didn't say otherwise," Luke tells her. "Just starting at the bottom and working my way up. First, I'm gonna check her bedroom. All right with you?"

"Yeah," Carol says. "I'll look around. See if there's a note or anything." From Jessica or from HYDRA. No struggle doesn't necessarily mean no kidnapping.

Luke nods, and ventures into the bedroom. The lights are off, so he flicks them on. There's no one there, Jessica included. The bed's not made. 

Jessica's wallet is on the floor. Her keys, he sees, are on the dresser. Nothing else looks out of place. He has no idea, just based on this, why Jessica isn't here or why her essentials aren't with her.

He sticks his head out the door. "Got a wallet and keys," he tells Carol.

"That's bad," she says. She's still standing in the middle of the kitchen. "She'd never go out on purpose and leave that stuff. Unless she wasn't planning to come back."

Luke wishes he didn't agree, but he does.

"Okay," he says. "So, four possibilities. She's been kidnapped, she ran off somewhere she thought might be better than us, she ran off to fight HYDRA on her own, or she ran off to--you know as well as me she's been real depressed lately. Probably be stupid of us to rule out suicide."

Carol winces. "I _know_. God. I might as well have driven her to it. Okay, let's break this down. We need to chase down all of the options." Her head's starting to ache already. "If she's dead, it'll come up on the news. I think that goes for fighting HYDRA, too. I think for now we should try to find out if they're holding her somewhere."

"HYDRA?" Luke asks. "Or could this be a Magneto trick? Maybe they know we're helping out the Avengers and they grabbed her to keep us occupied."

"Shit," Carol says. "We really don't have the resources for this. And it's not like we have _time_. We have to tell the others."

Luke nods. "Reassemble?" he says, and then winces, because Carol hates it when anyone compares them to the Avengers.

Carol's too miserable to complain. "Your place again, half hour?" Every second they waste feels like it's hurting Jessica.

"Sure thing," Luke says. He puts his hand on her shoulder and gives it a squeeze. "We'll get everybody together and deal with it, right? It's not like the Avengers need us on their case half as much as they seem to think they do. Magneto's making all his plays from the inside, is my guess."

Carol nods. "Great. All the more reason I shouldn't have taken us off HYDRA."

"Hey," says Luke. "You didn't know. We didn't know any of this shit. We still don't know, exactly. One step at a time."

It would be nice, Carol thinks, if she had any idea which direction to step in. "Thanks. Let's go." She doesn't want to spend any more time in this horribly empty apartment with all of Jessica's stuff.

~

Carol drives back to Luke and Jess's house, paging Danny and T'Challa on the way. Everyone should know about this as soon as possible. She texts Bobbi, too, and by the time she and Luke get back, Bobbi is waiting politely outside.

Carol gets everyone inside and shuts the door.

"Okay," she says to Jess and Bobbi. "Okay. So, Jessica is missing."

"Maybe," Luke says, and then, seeing Carol's face, amends it to, "probably. We should keep an eye on her place, though, in case she comes back or someone else does."

Jesus," Bobbi says. "What are we thinking? HYDRA? Magneto? Something else?"

"Fuck," Carol says. Which isn't really an answer.

"We had a couple ideas already," Luke says, eyeing her. "Didn't look like a break-in, but the door wasn't locked and her wallet was there. So she might have just taken a real stupid walk, or maybe she ran off on a suicide mission." He coughs. "Maybe she ran off to hurt herself. She's been real down."

"What about her suit?" Jess asks. "Did she leave her costume?"

Carol frowns. "I didn't see, but we didn't exactly go through her stuff. I don't know where she keeps it. If she's at all smart, she hides it."

"Hold up," Bobbi says, "do you really think she did something to herself?" She looks really upset.

Luke feels helpless. He feels about as guilty as anything else, because he knew things were bad and he acted like they'd just carry on okay. 

"Don't know," he says. "But we can't rule it out. That's one of the reasons we gotta act fast, ain't it?"

"Yeah," Bobbi says. Carol can see she's on the edge of tears. "Okay."

"How can we comb through HYDRA and Magneto and all of New York with four or five people?" Jess asks. "We're supposed to be helping the Avengers, and I'm not sure they'll be able to sneak away. Luke, honey, do you have any people?"

"Few," he admits.

"And SHIELD should be able to help," she says. "Considering she used to be one of theirs."

"Don't worry, they will," Bobbi says. Her voice has gone steely. "Nick Fury has more contacts than anyone in New York."

"What if it's Magneto?" Carol asks. "We don't have any contacts there. Nobody knows what's going on with him." She can't believe she let this happen.

"Wolverine might. He’s with the Avengers. I guess we talk to Tony Stark and work from there," says Jess. "Any other possibilities?"

"Maybe she ran someplace she felt was safer," Luke says.

"We don't know enough about her," Bobbi says. "This is horrible. I don't even know if she's got family or friends or anything."

Carol is still stuck on the part where she just realized that, at some point, she has to call Tony.

"I don't think that's cause of any shortcomings in _you,"_ Luke tells Bobbi. "She likes her privacy. That's got downsides." He sighs. "Guess we better try and work around them."

"Great," Carol says. "So, Jess is on intel. Find out if there's anyone Jessica would go to if she were feeling threatened or upset. Bobbi, talk to Fury. Luke, you call around to your people, check if they’ve seen anything. When Danny gets back I want the two of you to get anything you can out of HYDRA. T'Challa can follow up on any police reports and anything else that hits the airwaves." She takes a deep breath. "And since the situation is so tenuous, we can’t really afford to leave the Avengers in the lurch. Keep your eyes open for anything that can help them. I’ll call Tony and let him know we may not be at full capacity."

Luke nods, although he's not sure what the hell he'll have to say to HYDRA. He doesn't think he'd have much good to say to the Avengers, either.

Jess says, "I'll go back to her apartment and keep a lookout. If I find anything that might lead us to her, I'll let you know. I'm afraid Bobbi's right--we don't know nearly enough about Jessica to handle this kind of situation. I hope she turns up in half an hour and demands to know what I'm doing in her bedroom."

Bobbi smiles weakly. "Me too. God, I should have said something to her all those times she was looking so miserable."

Yeah, Carol wants to say, or I _shouldn't_ have said something to her. "No point worrying about what we should have done. Let’s just do what we can do _now._ ”


	46. none of their plans ever go quite right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She wasn't aware it was quite that extensive, actually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: hint of possible transphobia

Of course it's Carol who shatters Tony's tentative relief that the Avengers' first day with Magneto's crew hasn't been a disaster. He actually feels annoyed, first, because she calls him--not how that's supposed to work, which he'd thought he was pretty clear on. The feeling gets worse, and takes on the dull hint of a headache, as Carol speaks.

"I know you've got a lot on your plate," Carol says, leaning back against the side of the building. "Is this line secure?"

"Usually," Tony says. "Maybe your teammates have mentioned—or, it’s been on the news--we do have some very resourceful visitors right now. But, as far as I know, yes."

Carol doesn't have time or energy to worry about it further.

“My team is having an—internal problem,” she says. “It doesn’t concern your project, but we’ll have to reduce our support to handle it.”

“Crap,” Tony says. “Okay. So does that mean we won’t be having you all over for dinner anytime soon?”

"I don't know," Carol says. "Sorry. Sorry. Okay. Look, I think Danny and T'Challa have at least a little bit more useful intel to send along, so don't worry that we're going to leave you hanging. But this business we’re dealing with can’t really wait either, and no one else is going to get involved to fix it.”

“Got it,” Tony says unhappily. “Well, do what you’ve got to. See you around.”

“See you,” Carol says, even more unhappy. She feels worse when she’s hung up the phone.

~

Bobbi doesn't want to wait until morning. She's still crying a little when she leaves Luke, Jess, and Danny's place, but she cleans herself up by the time she gets to Nick Fury's office.

She feels like shit. She knew Jess wasn't okay, but she didn't do anything about it. At this point, she almost hopes it's a kidnapping.

She knocks, certain that he's awake and in there.

"Morse?" Fury shouts from inside. "Door's open. Come in, if you're planning to."

How does Fury _do_ that? Bobbi sighs and pushes open the door. "Sir." Old habits die hard.

Fury raises an eyebrow. "I'd say I'm glad to see you, but you look like shit." Then again, so do most people whom Fury is glad to see.

"Spider-Woman is missing," Bobbi says. Nick Fury hates small talk.

"Jessica Drew, I assume," Fury says. "She's the one you work with, correct?" There is more than one, of course.

"Uh, yes?" Bobbi says, momentarily derailed. "Anyway, we were getting in pretty deep with HYDRA, so we're afraid they did something. That's one of a couple of options." She hates how _tall_ everything in his office seems.

"Been some old players in town lately," Fury says. "Viper, for one?" He checks to see if she knows this.

"Yeah," Bobbi says impatiently. "I can see you've done all our work for us. But Viper caught Jessica in a HYDRA base, so we're thinking she might have come after her."

Fury nods shortly. "You know Viper and Jessica were close? They were part of the same group of young people HYDRA was raising up. The main difference is that Jessica left and joined SHIELD, and Viper left to hang around a whole bunch of other scum. But what I'm saying is, they go back, and Viper knows plenty about Jessica that she could use, _really_ use."

Bobbi winces. "Yeah. Luke was afraid of that, I think. He was worried her HYDRA past would be an issue." She wasn't aware it was quite that extensive, actually.

"Her HYDRA past is a little more complicated than you realize," Fury says, and for some reason, he looks uncomfortable. That's uncomfortable in itself, because as far as Bobbi knows, he's _never_ uncomfortable. With anyone. About anything. "I don't know that present circumstance necessitates my explaining any further, but if you don't know--Has Ms. Drew been feeling at home amongst your teammates, do you think?"

Bobbi doesn't know what he's getting at, but she knows the answer to his question. "No," she says. "She and Carol had some huge fight, and no one knows what it was about, except maybe Luke. And she isn't really--friendly with anyone. Not that she's mean or anything, but she doesn't exactly grab drinks with me after a meeting." It's coming out accusatory, but Bobbi's only ever wanted to be nice to Jessica.

Fury frowns at his desk. "Morse, I don't know exactly why Jessica Drew is missing, but I think if you've got HYDRA in the mix and Viper knows Jessica was gunning for them, HYDRA and Viper are your key. Anything else is gonna be a freak accident next to that. The question you've gotta answer is, did HYDRA come for her, or did she go to them? And of course, even if you figure that out, you gotta figure out _why."_

"We're working on it," Bobbi says. "Everyone's trying. But it's a big city. Luke and Danny are going to give HYDRA a talking-to. We were afraid Jessica might have gone after them alone."

"Maybe so," said Fury. "In which case, it's hard to guess whether Viper would have killed her or locked her up."

Bobbi feels herself go pale. "Yeah," she says. "Shit. Well, if anyone can deal with Viper, it's Luke and Danny." She's mostly saying it to make herself feel better. "Listen, could you just keep an eye out for anything useful, sir?"

Not a joke she really meant to make.

"Will do," he says. "Although I've got a few other things to worry about, so you'll pardon me if it's not my only priority."

"You and the rest of the world," Bobbi says. "I'm guessing the Magneto problem is on your radar in a big way."

"That's not the only thing," Fury grumbles ominously, but he waves her off. "Not your problem, Morse. I'll let you know if it becomes so. You just worry about your team, for now, and I'll throw you anything I happen to get ahold of."

"You do that," Bobbi says, angry as hell but, as usual, deciding it isn't worth it to say so. "Night, sir."

She slams the door a little when she leaves. Now she's just even more worried about Jessica than before.

“Wish I had better for you, Morse!" Fury yells after her.

Now Bobbi feels worse than ever. It's not that Fury won't help, it's that even he doesn't have a clue how.


	47. luke and danny fight hydra a little

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "This is so fucking stupid," Luke mutters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: injury

Danny's first thought is recon, like, sneaking around and not getting noticed and maybe finding out if Jessica is locked up or something. Luke's first thought is apparently to march up to their front door (the closest thing they have to one, anyway) and ask them where the hell she is.

"Is there a way we can do both?" Danny asks dubiously.

Luke glowers at him, arms crossed. "You do what you want. I'm gonna go in and ask 'em where she is. Maybe Jess'll come with me." They're wasting time.

"Jess has to keep a lookout at Jessica's place," Danny reminds him. He waves a hand. "Come on, we can argue about it on the way there."

Luke relaxes a little. Danny's good. "Let's do it. I'll drive."

Once they're in the car, he says, "I'm trying to decide if it'll be good or bad if it turns out HYDRA did it. They know her. They'd probably keep her alive."

"Probably," Danny says. "It seems like maybe she and Viper have a little history." He grimaces as he says it, though, because history isn't here or there, and being alive is a pretty far cry from being okay, with people like HYDRA.

"Yeah," Luke says. "Shit." He can't stop thinking about how Jessica looked after her last run-in with Viper. He clears his throat. "Well, maybe she just ran off somewhere."

"In which case, Fury's people will find her even if we don't," Danny says. "Okay. How about this. We go ask at the door and you yell and I Zen, and maybe if we're lucky at the end we'll know something and we won't be captured. That sound like your kind of a plan?"

Despite what a shitty night this turning out to be, Luke smiles. "Just like."

Then he shuts his mouth for the rest of the trip. He doesn't like to over-think before a mission, especially one like this. He'll just psych himself out and worry so hard about Danny or Jessica that he'll fuck something up.

He pulls up a couple of blocks away from the base Danny and Jessica broke into before. "Let's go," he says.

Danny nods. They march right up to the base as promised, and any hint of Danny's sense of humor is gone by the time they get there.

"Just gotta get in and do this," Luke says firmly. He squeezes Danny's arm quickly. There's no point saying anything comforting. He raises a fist and pounds on the alley wall, leaving a shallow indentation.

Danny stands a few feet back, unsmiling. 

There's no answer, at first. Maybe they think their visitors are just a couple rowdy drunks, or maybe they just don't feel like opening the door to a pair of angry superheroes. 

"Maybe you should hit harder," Danny suggests.

"You open it up or I'll fucking bust it down!" Luke shouts at the wall, hitting it harder this time.

About thirty seconds later, the door opens. Just inside is a woman in a standard-issue HYDRA uniform, frowning and pointing a gun at Luke's chest. "Hail HYDRA," she says tentatively. She sounds more annoyed than anything else.

Luke guesses there's no point trying to pretend you're not HYDRA when you're wearing all green and yellow with stupid goggles.

"No, thanks," Danny says. "We're just looking for a friend of ours. Thought she might have stopped by?"

"No friend of yours would be welcome here," the woman sneers. She doesn't move her gun. Maybe Danny doesn't look as threatening.

"How 'bout we come in and look around?" Luke says, looming.

"I think not," the agent says. He can't tell where she's looking, behind her goggles.

Danny is putting himself a little behind Luke. His eyes are still on the HYDRA agent, but Luke can tell he's not looking at her in the usual way. Time for that distraction, then.

"All right, girl, you want to play?" Luke says. "Because the bullets in that gun aren't gonna make a dent." He feints toward her, making a half-hearted grab for it.

Now her attention is _definitely_ on him. She jerks back, but she doesn't shoot. She must not be very high-ranking.

Danny can't tell immediately whether she knows anything about Jessica or not. He's not even sure she knows who _they_ are. 

"Luke," he says calmly, "I don't think she knows who we are."

"Maybe I should explain," Luke says, half yelling. "This is Iron Fist, and I'm Luke Cage. We throw people like you in jail. Now, where's Spider-Woman?"

"Go to hell!" the woman snaps. She reaches for her radio. "Don't come any closer."

Danny doesn't quite catch it--she knows _something,_ that's for sure. She went all out of whack, either when Luke mentioned their names or when he mentioned Jessica. Of course, if she knows who Jessica is and knows HYDRA has her, that might be enough reason to freak out when you figure out the people at your door are her team.

"Did your new boss kidnap her?" Danny asks. "Is she here?"

The HYDRA agent is trying to stay impassive, and Danny can feel right through it that the answer is at least half a yes.

"Even if she is, do you really think we'll give her up?" The agent is backing up now. "Does HYDRA give up what it owns? Never!"

"They have her," says Danny quickly. "In or out?"

"In," Luke says, forcing himself through the doorway, even as the HYDRA agent tries to slam it in his face. He knows they're way outnumbered and it's the wrong move, but Jessica is in there.

"Sure thing, buddy," Danny says, and the HYDRA agent, who's been keeping her eye on Luke the whole time, doesn't see Danny in time to block his punch. She's out cold when she hits the ground.

"All right," Danny says. "If we're going in, now's the time."

"This is so fucking stupid," Luke mutters. "Let's go. Which way, do you think? You've been here before."

"Aw, hell," Danny says. "I don't know where they keep prisoners. You trust me to make a guess?"

"I trust you," Luke says. "Right or wrong, we're still in hot water."

"Ahaha," Danny says, making for the downward staircase, "Carol is going to kill us." He can see a couple more agents coming down the stairs above as they slip through the door. Obviously all that pounding on the wall got some attention. The unconscious body on the floor isn't going to do them any good either.

There's no time to say any of that, but there's no need. They both pound down the stairs looking grim. "To the left," Danny says, and leads them past the operating theatre.

"You don't see her down there, do you?" he asks. There are plenty of agents around here. One of them is bound to look up any second. He's certain the others are starting down the stairs after them even now.

"No," Luke says quietly. "And there's a chance she's not even here. They have more than one New York base, I think." And then there's the fact that Jessica is obviously pretty important to them, since she used to be a member. She might not even be held with other prisoners.

"Well, we're here now," Danny mutters. "Deeper in?"

"Yeah," Luke whispers. Not like they have much choice now. He really, really wishes he'd come alone. "Think there are, uh, labs or anything?"

"Sure," Danny whispers back. "Come on." He leads them at a hunkered-down run to a likely door. They can't exactly use the ceiling he sneaked in last time, so they'll have to give up on covert and go for fast and hard. But there are two of them to do it, at least. 

"Go scout," Danny says, throwing himself down behind the door. "We've picked up too many stragglers. Gotta send 'em off somewhere else. Go ahead and just see if she's there, okay? I'll try to make sure there's a way out afterwards." He settles, crosslegged, and shuts his eyes in case it will stop Luke from arguing.

Luke narrows his eyes, but damn it, they don't have _time_. He's not going to fuck this up worse by fighting with Danny about it.

"On it," he says. He moves fast, in a half crouch, into the next area. He already knows he'll give up and turn back for Danny before he gets too far, though.

Danny, at the doorway, does his best to concentrate. He's actually at his best in high-stress situations, so it's not nearly as hard as it should be for him to meditate. He feels his way through the shape of the base, through all the people populating it, and he tries, slowly, to turn them down. It's like adjusting the flame on a gas range, just hinting at everything in his sights that it wants not to burn quite so hot, not to move that fast, not to be so worried about a couple little intruders. 

So far so good. He hopes it goes as well for Luke.

~

Luke finds himself in the entryway to what is clearly a lab. There are one or two scientists in lab coats on the other side of the room, making marks on clipboards. As for the rest of it, Luke can't see anything immediately identifiable. He classifies it all as Evil HYDRA Science and probably nothing to do with Jessica. Hopefully nothing to do with Jessica.

It's too bad, he thinks, that he can't really pass for a HYDRA agent.

The agents are slow to look up--either they're not a very observant bunch or Danny's thing is working. When they do, though, they notice all the way. And since they're HYDRA scientists, one of them puts down the instrument they're working with, picks up a laser gun, and shoots at Luke.

Luke winces, but the worst that happens is his shirt is ruined and his chest-hairs are a little singed. "Where's Spider-Woman?" he demands, making a run at one of the scientists and grabbing him by the collar. Might as well go all the way.

The scientist in question yelps, and two others start firing weapons at him. A fourth is rummaging through the cupboards, glancing back at him anxiously.

"No Spider-Woman here!" said the agent Luke is shaking. "Here there are only--our own!"

"The hell's that mean?" Luke asks. He doesn't bother using the man as a shield. He's not getting anyone killed if he can help it. "I know you got prisoners here. You do it all the damn time."

"You mean subjects?" says another agent nastily, hurling a piece of equipment at him.

"Hey!" the other one shouts. "That's expensive! That's my invention!"

"It sucks," says the first.

"Sucks even more now," Luke says when it shatters on his shoulder. "Where's your boss hiding?" It's a long shot. She's probably not even here.

"Madame Hydra has no need to answer to you!" shouts the agent whose invention has just been smashed. 

"He might need to answer to her, though," his enemy says, and she sweeps up something from a tray of medical instruments. She runs her thumb against the controls, and fires it at Luke.

"Fuck!" Luke drops the agent he's holding and falls back against the lab table. Whatever she hit him with, it's got a lot more juice than the first set of weapons.

Which makes him pretty much a normal guy up against a gun. Time to make an exit. 

_Danny,_ he thinks. He hopes he's worried enough that Danny will pick up on the feeling.

"It worked!" the hydra agent says in surprise. "Call reinforcements!" she says to one of her companions, and then fires at Luke again, this time at his leg.

Luke grunts and falls to his knees, but only for a second. The thought of what would happen to Jess and Danny if he died is enough to push him to his feet and send him at a limping run for the door.

By the time he reaches it, Danny is at the other side. "Come on, buddy," he says. So businesslike. He pulls Luke through the door and slams it behind them. "Lots of company coming the other way," he says. "Not gonna be fun."

"I can't walk much," Luke manages, because it's fair for Danny to know. He'd rather not freak him out, but there's no sense pretending he's fine.

"Me in front, then," Danny says, pressing forward. "Call backup. Call Carol. Now!"

In the field, Luke doesn't fuck around. He grabs his phone and dials her number, still limping badly as he follows Danny. As soon as she picks up, he says, "Carol, we're at the HYDRA base. Could use some backup." He keeps his voice low and fast, carefully controlled so it doesn't sound like he's in pain.

“Shit!” Carol says. 

“Yeah. Now,” Luke says, and hangs up.

Danny says, "You up for fighting, or do we need to hide?"

"I can fight," Luke says, guessing. It takes a lot to bring him down, though. He knows that. "Let's just aim to get through 'em fast."

"All right, partner," Danny says. "My guess is there's about fifty of 'em on that side of the door. We're going to have to hope Carol shows up quick."

"Jesus," Luke mutters. "Okay. At least this set probably don't know how to hurt me yet." He grits his teeth and tries not to stumble. "Let's do this."

"They were a little drowsy until I came to get you," Danny says. "Don't count on it now." He kicks the door outward with so much force that it knocks down two (three? He can't tell.) HYDRA agents standing on the other side. The rest of the agents see them. First they start shouting. Then they start shooting. Time to avoid a lot of guns.

: Luke does his best to stay between Danny and the guns, because as it turns out, he was right. They're not dishing out a damn thing that'll hurt him.

"Bring it on, assholes!" he shouts, punching a couple of them and trying not to throw himself off balance.

Danny is handling himself just fine, but he's grateful for the shield. There's a lot of these guys, and he doesn't feel that both of them need to get shot today. Jess wouldn't like it, and neither would Danny, for that matter. 

It's kind of a problem that they're fighting their way up the stairs. They shouldn't even be here at all. 

"Hey Luke?" Danny calls over the crowd.

"Yeah?" Luke asks. It comes out more like a gasp than a word, because some idiot jams the butt of a gun into his ribs. He's only winded for a second, though. "What?"

"If we see anyone worth questioning around here, can you mention Jessica's name?"

Forethought that probably won't come in useful at all, but at least Danny is _trying_ to get something out of this adventure.

"Anything for a friend," Luke shouts back, kicking an agent in knee with his injured leg. Stupid move. He glances around above the sea of agents, trying to catch a glimpse of anyone in a different uniform.

Danny has his eye out, too, but mostly he's thinking how damned impossible it's going to be to get out the door if Carol can't get here in the next minute or two.

But then there's a disturbance at the top of the stairs, and Danny sees Madame Hydra herself coming down to see them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> enjoy this cliffhanger while we go away for five days and get married, BAM


	48. the hapless not avengers limp on home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team chat after this is not going to be fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings: gendered language, violence

Madame Hydra is a lot hotter than Danny expects, especially since she's pissed and kind of evil and those things really don't generally do it for him. They still don't.

"Heads up!" he calls to Luke, and then takes a punch to the jaw that knocks him off his feet. It’s not on purpose, and his head is spinning, but he can use it if Luke keeps cool.

Luke, jerking around just in time to see Danny go down, squares himself to charge anyone who goes for Danny. Then he sees what Danny was yelling about.

Madame Hydra looks down at him and he glares back. "Where's Spider-Woman?" Keep on asking till you get an answer.

Danny curls up quick with his arms over his head, which doesn't stop the HYDRA agents nearby from kicking him. He can ignore them, though, if he tries.

 _Focus,_ he orders himself fiercely, and feels out Madame Hydra. She's distinct at the head of the crowd, and when Luke speaks, Danny can feel her burn. 

"Excuse me?" Viper says. "This is no way to ask a lady a question." She gestures, and the agents ease up a little. He can _feel_ that the answer matters to her. But it's not enough.

"Real name, buddy," he murmurs into his elbows. “C’mon, what did I say?” Someone gets a nasty shot in under his ribs. He feels it, but he doesn't wince. They drag him onto his knees. He keeps his eyes shut.

"Some lady," Luke says, kind of on autopilot. "If you don't know Spider-Woman, then maybe you remember Jessica Drew."

Oh, Danny's going to have to get Luke back for that _some lady_ comment later on, but for now, for some reason, it and Jessica’s name do the trick. 

His eyes snap open. "Shit," he whispers.

Madame Hydra is keeping her cool on the stage, but Danny can feel her raging from here. Jessica _is_ here, he's pretty sure. And Viper is protecting her. 

_From_ us _?_ Danny wonders. That's a horrifying thought.

"I do remember Jessica Drew," Viper says. She nods towards Danny. "I remember you as well. You both broke into my base the other night. I think Jessica has more than answered for herself already, but what about you, Mr. Rand?"

Danny vaguely wonders why everyone knows his name. He's not _Luke._

"Wait, hold up," Luke says. "What does that mean? What did you do to her?" He feels way out of his depth, and his leg is throbbing.

"Nothing she didn't deserve," Viper says. "And that's what you'll get, too."

Danny thinks this would actually be a good time to make a break for it, except for all the agents holding him down and pointing guns. Luke doesn't look any better; he's bleeding, and his face is shiny with sweat. In about five seconds, Danny is going to kill some dudes.

Luke, of course, doesn’t wait five seconds, and for some reason doesn’t think Danny might coordinate with him, maybe too pissed off to have a plan. He tries to launch himself at Viper, but his leg gives, and he falls. 

For a second he's so dizzy from the pain that he can't even try to get up.

"What did they use that could actually pierce your skin?" Viper asks. 

The agents from the lab have made it here by now, and the one who did it calls up, "Overpowered medical laser, ma'am!"

"Good," says Viper. "We'll need it again.

It takes all Danny has not to move. If Carol doesn't show up soon he will _kill_ her. But these assholes are one touch-Luke-Cage-again from Danny no longer giving a shit about the odds of their winning. He tries to relax, so they won't know it's coming. Three. Two.

The door opens. More accurately, the door is blown off its hinges.

Carol is standing there, still with her jacket over her uniform, hands blazing with energy. Madame Hydra spins around to face the intruder, and she sneers when she sees who it is. 

 

"Guess I wasn't invited to the party," Carol tells Madame Hydra.

“No, you weren’t,” Madame Hydra says scornfully.

"But my friends were," Carol says, her voice ringing out across the room. "Luke Cage, Iron Fist..." She locates each of them. "And Jessica Drew. Where's Jessica, bitch?"

"You're really a wonder at keeping a team together, aren't you, Ms. Marvel?" she says. "I don't know what to tell you about _Jessica._ These two you can take, if you promise you and your little mice won't come creeping around my nest again."

Carol looks a little derailed, but she doesn't lower her hands. "We won't be back, if it's true that Jessica's not here. Of course, I have no way of telling if you're lying to me." She glances at Danny.

Danny gives her a complicated look back, which wouldn't be so bad if he weren't wearing his mask. But even if she could see him, he wouldn't be giving her a straight answer. This isn't the right moment to be barreling into anything. They've already done that, and now they've got to back out of this one slowly while they've still got any possibility of an advantage.

"We didn't see her," he says.

"Then I guess we made a mistake. Just like you made a mistake when you beat up and shot my friends," Carol says. "So why don't we just part ways?"

"This time," Viper says, almost carelessly, but there's a hard look in her eyes that Danny really doesn't like. Team chat after this is not going to be fun.

Carol nods and wades through the HYDRA agents to Luke. "Need a hand?" she asks.

Luke grimaces and lets her help him up. "Thanks. Let's get the hell out of here. Danny, you good?"

"Yeah," Danny says, detaching himself from several people. He can already feel where the worst bruises will be when he stands up, but it’s nothing a little ice can’t mend. He hitches himself to Luke's other side, and they all squeeze up the stairs together. He meets Viper's eyes as they pass her, and he gets the impression that she's not worried about what they might do whether they've got her figured out or not.

When they get outside, Luke collapses against Danny. "Shit," he says. "I'm gonna need a doctor. I'm sorry. We really--"

"Don't," Carol says. "It's been a really, really long couple of days. It's okay. You did what you were supposed to do, mostly. Do you need a doctor, Danny?"

"Ice pack," Danny says. "Thanks for picking us up."

"You scared the shit out me," Carol says shakily. "I'm just glad I got here in time. Do you think they know anything about her?"

"No," says Danny. He doesn't want to deal with it until they get home, and he's not so sure they can't still be overheard.

"Shit," Carol says. " _Fuck_." She sounds close to tears, but if Luke knows anything about her, he knows she won't cry.

"You can go home," Luke says. "I can drive myself to the hospital. Uh, I gotta call Jess, anyway."

"I'll drive," Danny says. "You get in back. Boss, can we talk on the way?"

"Absolutely," Carol says, and she shuts up until they're in the car.

"Okay," Danny says, pulling off the curb and going a little too fast in the direction of the nearest hospital. "How you doing back there, partner?"

"Okay," Luke says through his teeth. "Not bleeding too bad. Lasers. Jess'll kill me if I don't call her. But talk about what you felt."

Danny nods. "So, I think there might be a problem," he says.

Carol is pale and tense in the seat beside Danny. She goes even paler at that. "What kind of problem?"

Danny says, "Viper definitely knows where she is. But if she kidnapped her, it wasn't to hurt her."  
"That's pretty broad, though," Carol says tightly. "A lot of their experiments wouldn't technically hurt her, but they wouldn't do anything we wanted, either."

Luke frowns and tries to think through the blazing pain in his leg and shoulder. "Yeah, but that don't make sense. They're not gonna go out of their way to kidnap a ex-member who's been checking up on them just to experiment on her like anyone else."

"I mean," Danny says, "not to _harm_ her. Viper thinks of herself as Jessica's protector."

"Then she's insane!" Carol bursts out. Then she thinks a little bit about what Jessica said the last time they spoke. For all she knows, Jessica thinks she _needs_ protection.

"Oh," she says quietly.

"I mean, obviously she could be," Danny says, not quite running a red light. "She might be holding Jessica against her will and not even realize it. In which case we just made it a whole lot harder to get Jessica back." He frowns. "Do you think Jessica _could_ have gone there herself? I mean, as something other than a suicide mission?"

"No," Luke says dubiously.

"Yes," Carol says. "It would be _really fucking stupid_ , but it makes sense. After that fight we had? After I dropped the HYDRA mission? After she thought--" She frowns. "She really didn't have any reason to think Danny was talking about her."

"What?" Danny says. "I haven't been--hey, I asked Luke _one time_ if he knew something about her that I don't, but I dropped it. I haven't been sneaking around in her business."

"I didn't think so," Carol says. "And Jessica may be kind of emotional, but she's not over-dramatic. I don't like this."

Danny pulls up to the hospital with a little screech that surprises the others. "You guys go in, I'll park," he says. "Don't get sent away before I get in there."

"You got it," Luke says, levering himself out of the backseat. He lets Carol help him into the hospital, silent only because he'd rather not made any noise when he lands on his leg wrong.

By the time the reach the door, though, Luke is gasping. "Listen," he says, "can you call Jess? Just, don't scare her or--I just don't want to pass out while I'm talking to her."

"Okay," Carol says, but only because the ER check-in desk is in her line of sight now. She waits till Luke has limped over to it to call Jess.

Jess picks up after the first ring. "Tell me you're picking up pizza for a midnight snack," she says. Carol can already hear worry in her voice.

"Everything's okay," Carol says, because she's been told that's the least alarming way to start. "But Luke and Danny ran into some trouble at HYDRA. We're at the hospital getting Luke patched up."

"What?" Jess says jarringly. "How the _hell_ did--he's okay? Is Danny okay?"

"Yeah," Carol says, leaning against the wall and watching Luke check in. "Danny's just a little banged up. I think Luke got hit with some kind of laser. He's walking, though. He'll be okay. I'm really sorry."

"You weren't even supposed to be there," Jess says. "Let me guess, Luke wanted to do things the hard way?"

"I haven't had a chance to ask," Carol says. "But yeah, that's my guess. He called me." She grips the phone so hard she has to remember that she could actually break it. She doesn't want to think about Luke's call.

"I'm glad he did," Jess says. "Did they find Jessica?"

"No," Carol says. She rubs her forehead and looks around to make sure no one's listening. She's only getting a few looks for the uniform. "I don't know, Jess, it sounds like maybe she didn't want to hurt Jessica after all. Sounds like maybe she wants her back."

Jess is quiet long enough that Carol has to check to see that her phone hasn't turned itself off. But it hasn't. "I hope she's okay," Jess is saying as Carol puts the phone back to her ear.

"We need to meet tomorrow," Carol says wearily. "Okay? We need to think about what to do next. Because even if Jessica went back to them voluntarily--which we don't know--I don't think she's better off there."

Jess does not tell her that she doesn't think it's up to Carol to decide. She says, "Probably a good idea all around, once everyone's gotten some sleep. Do you need me here, or can I come over to the hospital?"

"You can come over," Carol says. "I'm--I really need to get some sleep. Thanks for all the help. We'll work this out tomorrow, okay? I know I haven't been--I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Sure," Jess says. "Night." She hangs up without nursing Carol's distress, and calls Danny to find out where they are. She doesn't usually hate this job, but the last week or so has been a real stinker.

~

Jess doesn't get her boys home until nearly five in the morning. Danny has long since lost his business face and just looks achy, anxious and worn out. Luke is clearly too exhausted to worry about much else besides making it to his bed.

Jess herds them both upstairs. She says to Luke, "Don't get in bed until we get you out of those clothes, okay? Danny, can you go put the kettle on and see if there's anything in the fridge to snack on?"

Luke, eyes barely open, gets his shirt off without more than a wave of dizzy pain, but he only makes a half-hearted attempt at his pants before his leg starts to throb and he just feels too tired to care. Getting any sort of medical care is always a pain in the ass, because they never believe him when he says his skin is too tough for needles, and usually a bunch of rich white guys end up (or start off) asking him if he's in a gang. Sometimes he almost feels like giving up and saying yes. Sure, okay, yeah, a gang that fights guys armed with lasers. He’s an idiot. Why not.

"Can I have a hand?" he asks Jess.

"Of course you can, sweetie," she says. "Both of 'em." She helps him get his pants down over his injury and pushes him into bed. She gently pats his bandages.

Luke smiles weakly. "Thanks. I feel like shit. And we didn't even get close to getting her back."

"You got farther than anyone else, I think," Jess says. "Do you think Carol's right? Do you think she would have gone back there on her own?"

Luke is too tired to make a solid call, but... "Yeah," he says. "I think it's possible. If she didn't feel safe here and they gave her a place to be, she might have taken it."

Jess sighs. "I wish I could say that sounded unlikely." She tilts her head back towards the doorway, so Danny can hear her in the kitchen. "You okay, hon?"

"Yeah," Danny answers loudly. "Sandwich. Only one. I'm not feeling that industrious." He appears, carrying a plate. It's just peanut butter, but if Luke or Jess feels half as gross as he does, everything else sounds too disgusting. "Coffee in a minute."

"You're perfect," Luke says sincerely, because it's fucking late at night and he'll say it if he wants. "Hey, listen, I'm sorry. I made the wrong call. We shouldn't have gone in like that."

"It's okay," Danny says. "We wouldn't know anything, if we hadn't. I mean, it's okay if you're okay."

He looks drawn. Jess strokes his hair and says, "I think you did all right. You brought him home in one piece, didn't you? Besides, he never gets to bleed."

Luke grabs Danny's hand, which is about all he has the energy for. "Thanks for having my back, partner.”

Jess gets up, kissing his knee on the way. She finds his pajamas and hands them over. "Come on," she says. "Just because it's a novelty don't bleed all over _everything."_

"Water's boiling," Danny says, and vanishes out of the room again.

"Like a little ghost," Jess says. "You scared the hell out of him, baby."  
Luke grimaces. "I know. He saved my ass back there. I'm just glad we're both okay." He puts his pajamas on slowly as he talks. "Just hope Jessica is. What if we find her and she wants to stay?"

"Then I guess we have a complicated relationship with one of our enemies," Jess says. Sometimes she doesn't like being so matter-of-fact. It sounds bad even in her own head.

Luke is silent for a moment. When he's done getting dressed, he says, "Carol ain't gonna like that."

"No," Jess says. "She wouldn't."

Danny pads back into the room with a tray full of cups and the French press, and an ice pack under each arm, which explains why he looks sort of uncomfortable.

"Is there something we _actually did?"_ he asks. "I mean, is there a reason besides how we're not HYDRA that Viper thinks we're bad for her would-be girlfriend?"

Luke squeezes his eyes shut and leans back against the headboard. "Well, there's what Carol did."

"I don't know what Carol did," Danny says. "Also, I'm pretty sure now that I'm not allowed to. I can't tell you how much that's putting Carol on my good side."

Luke nods. "Thing is, I think she fixed her fuck-up. At least, they've been getting along okay. And as far as Carol knows, nothing new happened except for the fact that we shelved the HYDRA mission. And that's not enough reason for Jessica to take off for good."

"Unless Viper said something to her when we broke into the base before," Danny says. His hand hovers over the plunger on the coffee pot, and then he puts it back in his lap.

"You said she was upset. We _saw_ she was upset," Jess says.

"That could have meant whatever," says Danny despondently. "Everything is all fucked up."

"We're gonna fix it," Luke says, but without much conviction. "Did you see Carol's face? She's gonna work her ass off to make this right." Carol might be kind of an asshole and kind of a disaster as a people-person, but Luke wouldn't have signed on for this if he didn't respect her.

"Gonna suck if this is when she decides she really adores Jessica after all," Danny says. He pushes the plunger down on the coffee and looks at it like it's betrayed him personally.

"I think it sucks, then," Luke says. "But Jessica's not dumb. No matter how bad Carol or the rest of us hurt her, she's gonna realize HYDRA isn't the answer."

"Depending on the question, maybe," Jess says, and sighs. "Danny, can I have one of those?" Danny passes her up a cup. "You two need some sleep. Don't drink that coffee if it's going to keep you up any longer. I don't care if it's decaf."

" _We_ need sleep?" Danny says. "What about you?"

"You know me," Jess says. "Caffeine puts me right to sleep."

"I'll drink it cold tomorrow," Luke says. He suddenly wants nothing more than to curl up and immediately fall asleep holding Jess and Danny.

Danny nods and wanders back to the kitchen, tray on one hand, the other holding an ice pack to his side. Jess will have to look at that in the morning. 

"Feeling shaky?" she asks Luke.

"Awful," Luke confirms. "Don't know how much is the lasers and how much is, you know. All this." He feels like they're already lost Jessica.

"It's five in the morning, and nothing ever looks good from five in the morning. Come on." She tucks him in, changes clothes, and downs her coffee (definitely decaf). When Danny comes back, she grabs him for a kiss as well. "Time for sleep," she says.

“No kidding,” he says. “Go to bed. I’ll be right there.” She climbs in and Danny practically trips out of his suit, reappearing with flat hair and clean boxers half a minute later. A couple nasty bruises, Jess thinks, assessing as he settles in on the other side of Luke. But he’ll be okay.

"Lucky," Luke mutters into his pillow. "All three of us. You know that?"

“Yeah,” Jess says.

Luke gets as good a grip on Danny as he can. He still has a hard time being as physically affection with Danny as with Jess, despite his efforts. But they almost died tonight. Danny needs to know how it is.

Danny stays tense for a few seconds, not actively uncomfortable, but not naturally at ease, either. He relaxes, though, when it's clear Luke isn't letting go. He grabs Jess's hand over Luke's hip.

"Coulda done worse," he murmurs. But he's already mostly asleep.

Luke nestles against them both, the pain in his leg and shoulder dulled by drowsiness. Tomorrow's probably going to be pretty unpleasant, so tonight he's going to enjoy feeling secure right here. He’s going to do his damnedest.


	49. tony and carol chat again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I don't know what it means. But I'm scared for her. Okay?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: none

Several days go by without much change, except that Tony gets sicker of their guests every time he sees them. Gambit is bothering him less than he expects, but not as _much_ less since he started mysteriously getting along with Sabretooth. Mystique is still getting his dander up being a creep to Steve. The whole situation feels heavier and grimmer every day, like the air is filling up with gas and they can all smell it about to explode. He's worried about his friends, he's worried about Magneto. Everything is worrying.

Example: Carol and her team have been out of touch almost entirely since whatever bad thing that happened happened. Tony decides it’s about time he beat at least one worrying thing, so he sneaks out of the tower to call Carol from an office building he owns across town.

“Carol!” he says cheerfully when Carol picks up.

"Hi, Tony," she says. She can hear herself sounding exhausted, but it's too late to do anything about that. Every time her phone rings, she expects it to be Jessica or HYDRA or some other disaster. She doesn’t want to talk to Tony, either, but maybe it’s better than the alternatives. “I was going to call you.”

“Were you, though?” Tony says. “So, I’m hiding from everybody in an undisclosed location right now. I haven’t heard much from your side lately. Everything going all right with that little crisis you mentioned?”

Carol hesitates. But it’s not fair to leave Tony in the dark, when she has no idea how this is going to pan out.

“No,” she says. “We lost Jessica Drew. She’s missing. She’s probably with HYDRA.”

“Jesus,” says Tony. “Carol, you didn’t say.”

“I _know_ ,” Carol says.

“Can we help?”

“We-- Luke and Danny broke in the local HYDRA base. The only thing they got out of it was a night in the hospital and the confirmation that Jessica's there. But probably not as a prisoner."

"What?" Tony says, startled. "What do you mean, not as a prisoner? She got out of that years ago."

“I don’t know for sure,” Carol says. “Madame Hydra’s in charge here, now, and she thinks she’s Jessica’s…protector.”

"We think--" Carol takes a deep breath. She knows Tony, out of everyone, is most likely to yell at her about this. But she can handle being yelled at. "We think maybe she felt alienated by our team. And went somewhere she was told she'd be more welcome."

"You actually managed to make her feel worse than HYDRA?" Tony says, and then cringes.

Carol exhales sharply. "Spare me the lecture, Tony. Has it occurred to you that I already feel like shit? And that how I feel doesn't matter? Because my girl is in there in hostile territory."

"Didn't mean to lecture," Tony says. He thinks of all the inappropriate questions he wants to ask and settles on just one of them. " _Your girl_?"

"She's on my team," Carol says, miserably and dishonestly. "I just want her back, Tony."

"Right," Tony says tiredly. "Because she's on your team. You know you're really going to be have to be sure she wants to come with you."

"I think Jess Jones was about to give me that lecture," Carol says. "Look, I know it's not my job to make Jessica's choices for her, but this is HYDRA we're talking about. I don't think they have her best interests at heart."

"Right," says Tony. "But if she doesn't want to come with you and you make her, either you're doing her a favor, putting everyone in danger, or coercing someone you care about because your feelings matter more than hers."

"What the hell do you suggest I do?" Carol snaps. "I have to try. I have to at least get to her and let her know that we're not monsters who talk about her behind her back. Don't I owe her that?"

"Probably," Tony says, rubbing his hand against his eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be a jerk--I know, doesn't always help. I'm just saying, be careful. Please."

"It's HYDRA," Carol says, her voice steely. "Even if she wants to stay, I'm not going to stop until I find out why they wanted her. Because last I heard, she was afraid of them."

"Can we back up? I'm not sure I'm seeing why you think she's with them by choice," Tony says.

"It's just something Danny got," Carol says. "He can sort of...read people." She waves her hand at her coffee table. "Not like reading minds, but just--You know, feeling them out. And he could tell Viper felt like she was protecting Jessica."

"Huh," Tony says.

"I don't know," Carol says, frustrated and guilty and angry. "I don't know what it means. But I'm scared for her. Okay?"

"Okay," Tony says. "I wish I had any ideas about how to get her out. I'm guessing the direct approach isn't too feasible at this point?"

“No,” Carol says, choked.

"God," says Tony. "I'm sorry. Things are really...not going well for anyone right now, are they?" He has to stop and take a deep breath at the end, because he keeps remembering that maybe they can't fix this. Maybe Pietro and Loki and everyone else in Latveria is dead. He can't even _start_ to think what Magneto's war is going to be like.

"No," Carol says. "No, they're not. But we just have to keep doing it, right? I have to go after HYDRA to see what they've done with Jessica, and you have to keep Magneto's people from starting anything you don't want started. Hey, at least you have--you know, people."

Tony says, "Yeah, well, half of my _people_ are on the other side of that border nobody can seem to cross." He doesn't mean to snap, but this is exhausting. "Everyone who's here is keeping their mouth shut all the time to keep Magneto from starting anything, and Hank is still keeping his head down, and Bruce is coming back from Asgard I don't even know when." He lets out a little huff of breath. "Bruce and Thor got _married,"_ he says. It's not going to sound nearly as bad out loud as it feels in his head.

"Uh, wow," Carol says. She didn't even know they were dating. She didn't even know they were _gay_. "Listen, Tony, if I can help, I will. That offer still stands. I don't think this HYDRA thing is going to take much more time. I'll find a way in and then I'll deal with what I find, one way or another." She feels both better and worse saying it.

"Yeah," Tony says, and sighs. "Thanks, Carol. I mean it. And same to you. I just--I wish I knew if they were coming back."

"I know," Carol says. "But you got the intel from Danny and T'Challa, right? I think they're alive." She hates that _I think_ is the best she has to offer.

Tony laughs (more or less). "Carol," he says, "if I were still drinking I would promise right now to get disgustingly drunk with you as soon as this thing is over."

"You're kidding," Carol says flatly. "You quit?" She feels unfairly betrayed, like it's a reflection on her. If _Tony Stark_ isn't drinking, what the hell is she doing?

"Uh," says Tony. "Yeah. I--a few months ago. It...turns out there are some consequences I'm not willing to live with."

"Huh," Carol says carefully. "Don't tell me this is Captain Rogers' doing."

"Carol," Tony says, feeling worse and worse.

"Wow." Carol can hear how brittle her voice has gotten. It's horrible. "I had no idea. You're just--well, cleaning right up, aren't you? Congrats."

“Thanks,” says Tony. “Hey. I know we’re both spread thin, but would it help if I sent you some Avengers backup?”

Carol’s anger banks, replaced with numb defeat. “I’d—really appreciate that.” Then she brightens. “Can you spare Captain Rogers?”

Tony almost says no, and then grins. “I’ll ask. Don’t worry, you’ll get someone. All my someones are good.”

“Thank you,” Carol says. “Let me know.”

"Will do. I'm sure the news will tell you if we screw up too badly, in the meantime," Tony says.

"I'm sure," Carol echoes. "See you, Tony." She hangs up before either of them can say anything to make the other one feel awful. Having friends is great.


	50. carol faces up to stuff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The agents lead Carol to a door and knock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: trans* issues, racism

That night, Carol doesn't call a meeting. Instead, she has one and a half beers and suits up. 

(She justifies it by telling herself that Luke could use the recovery time.)

She doesn't even know how to get through the secret door at the HYDRA base, if not by ramming through it, but she figures their security will be so tight that they'll notice her sooner or later. She just stands in the alley, hands on her hips, waiting. It doesn't take long, although probably it takes longer than it needs to. HYDRA have no reason _not_ to go out of their way to annoy her. But they do respond, after only a few minutes, coming at her from the other side (some other entrance nearby, probably) with their guns raised.

"Ms. Marvel," one of them says. (There are five.) "Are you looking for something in particular down here, or just communing with the rats?"

"I need to see Madame Hydra," Carol says, injecting every possible ounce of scorn into her voice. She's not really scared of these people. She's too upset and buzzed and desperate (and to be honest, powerful) to let them worry her.

There's silence from the collective HYDRA members while they consider, and then one says, "Maybe she even wants to see _you,"_ and then elbows another one like they're in on something. 

"Let's find out," says the first one, and fiddles with something on their jacket. "Madame Hydra! I apologize for interrupting. Ms. Marvel is here. She says she needs to see you."

"Tell her I'm alone this time," Carol says. "Actually alone. She should appreciate that." It doesn't matter whether they believe her or not.

"She says she's alone," the HYDRA agent relays. "For real this time." The HYDRA agent sounds maybe unnecessarily sarcastic.

"I wish I had time to fuck you all up," Carol says under her breath. Really all she wants is to blow the door down and tear the place apart until she finds Jessica. She could probably do it. She will, if she has to.

The agent, unphased, looks up at Carol. "Glorious leader says she's on her way," they say blandly.

Carol laughs flatly. "You must love your job."

Carol opens her mouth to say she can afford not to, with her legs, but then she realizes this is a waste of time and a distraction. She should at least be coming up with a plan. But she spent all day on that, and there isn't exactly a way to plan for this.

Madame Hydra must have been close to the exit when the agent called her; she is standing behind Carol with her arms crossed practically before Carol notices that she's arrived.

"Ms. Marvel," Madame Hydra says. "You came without your boys. I suppose that means--what? You must know by now there's no point in recon. You must be here to make demands, because you don't know what else to do."

Carol is halfway between irked and worried, but her mouth takes control. "Just the one demand. Jessica."

Madame Hydra says, "Obviously."

"Just let me talk to her," Carol says.

Madame Hydra doesn't bother telling Carol that Jessica isn't there, or taunting her for assuming that Jessica is. It isn't worth the effort. She says instead, "Why?"

Carol draws herself up. "I need to know why she's here. And whether or not she wants to be."

Madame Hydra smiles. "You already know why she's here. And if you thought she'd been coerced, or was being held captive, you wouldn't be asking nicely."

Carol sets her jaw and meets Madame Hydra's eyes. "I still want to talk to her. Or are you afraid she won't stay when I tell her you've been lying?" It's a long shot, but not that long. Jessica isn't really the paranoid type, and no one on the team was gossiping about her.

Madame Hydra doesn't rise to the bait. She says, "I'll see if she wants to come out."

Carol's hands are clenched in fists, and bright energy seeps through the cracks between her fingers. "Please do."

Madame Hydra inclines her head (which is a terrible joke of good manners, because she doesn’t have any) and vanishes back into the building. The other HYDRA agents follow her in. It's several minutes before an agent sticks his head around the secret door again and says, "So this is weird as shit--come in, Ms. Marvel."

Carol grimaces. She hates unprofessional agents, whatever organization they belong to. She follows these ones inside, hoping that she can say something to Jessica that won't hurt her even more.

The agents take Carol right into the center of the base, although they notably avoid bringing her near any of the labs. The area where they go is clearly the base's living space. It's surprisingly more cheery and comfortable than the sterile passageways just inside.

The agents lead Carol to a door and knock. After a few seconds, Jessica answers.

"Jessica," Carol says. Her mouth feels dry. She really isn't prepared for this, because all she wants to do is grab Jessica in a hug and then drag her the hell out of here.

Jessica swallows. "Carol," she says. "That didn't take you so long. Less than a week, I guess."

"You didn't give us much to work from," Carol says. "Jesus Christ, Jessica. Are you okay?"

"I'm good," Jessica says.

That seems genuine. Carol never really thought Jessica had been brainwashed anyway. "Okay," she says after a second. "Uh, I guess I should ask you why you're here."

Jessica moves back from the doorway and gestures Carol to come in, abrupt around the edges. When she does, Jessica shuts the door and says, "Viper is coming back here in five minutes. To check that I'm okay and you're not trying to--to take me anywhere."

Carol wants to break everything in the room. Instead she forces herself to be calm and says, "I'm not going to take you anywhere. I just came to see if you really wanted to be here. And to let you know that whatever Viper told you, no one on this team hates you. None of us even dislike you. And Luke and Danny don't gossip."  
Jessica says, "What? Don't be dumb, Carol, of course Danny gossips."

"Danny doesn't fucking know!" she snaps. "The only people who know are me and Luke, and Luke would never tell anyone!"

Jessica is silent for a few seconds. Finally, quietly, she says, "I don't want it to matter if they know or not."

Carol takes a deep breath and tries to remember everything Steve told her about not being an asshole. "I don't know what to tell you," she says. "I can't prove they wouldn't be dicks. But I don't think they would. I know Luke wouldn't. Most of them are better people than I am, Jessica. And they're worried sick about you."

Jessica says, "I've been on a lot of sides. I've--been here before. And with fucking SHIELD, although I'm pretty sure they try to forget that as much as fucking possible. And I've been with you. Everyone always says they're the good guys, Carol, you know that? Only real nutcases _want_ to be the bad guys."

"So, what, you're choosing HYDRA?" Carol snaps. "I don't trust them! I mean, forget everything they've done, I don't trust them with _you_." She certainly doesn't trust Viper.

"Your team is the only one that felt really bad to be with!" Jessica snaps. "All the time. Every day. Maybe you don't like what HYDRA's been in the past, but they take care of their own and they've got new direction. Actual direction. Which is something maybe you should work on, if you want to have any fucking team left at all."

"What do you think I'm doing?" Carol yells. "Luke and Danny risked their lives to break in here and get you! I walked in here tonight because I wanted to make sure you were okay!"

"Well, guess what," Jessica says. "I am. I'm not useless and I'm not scared all the time, and for once the hot chick I like doesn't think I'm a _fucking monster_ for being born with a goddamned dick!”

Carol backs off, fuming and nearly in tears. She knows she's not helping, but she doesn't know how to stop. It's not like Jessica's _wrong_ about how she reacted.

"Well," she says after a second, "if I make it out of here alive, I just hope I don't find out in a week or two that your hot chick is the monster."

"If you decide that," Jessica says, her voice off-kilter, "I'll be backing her up."

"I'm not giving up on you," Carol tells her. "Don't you think for a second that I am. You gave me a second chance, and I'm not going to waste it."

"Don't," Jessica says. "Even if I decided to leave HYDRA, it wouldn't be to go back to the team. I'm done feeling sick every time I wake up. I'm done never knowing what we're doing next. I'm done having half my teammates float around me like I've got a disease and it's too horrible to mention."

"I'm going," Carol says abruptly. She isn't even sure if she'll be allowed to, but she can't be here. She tries to say _Good luck_ or something else nice, but when she tries, she just tears up. All of this is her fault.

Jessica nods, her arms wrapped around each other. 

The HYDRA agents in the hallways don't seem surprised that she's come out again, and they don't try to stop her leaving. They lead her to the exit, instead, and make sure the door shuts securely behind her.

Carol takes to the air, sobbing with fury, guilty and almost unable to breathe. She doesn't know what she expected. All she wants is to go home and drink herself into unconsciousness.

But that won't make anything Jessica said less true and it won't fix her team. So she goes to the Wakandan Embassy.

The embassy's instruments may not talk like Tony Stark's house does, but they work just as well. T'Challa is awakened from a nap just as Carol arrives. He lets her in through the protective field remotely, and meets her on the roof. 

"Ms. Marvel!" he says. She does not look well--more markedly than during the rest of this past week, though she has not looked particularly well at any point.

"I know it's late," Carol says, She's not crying anymore, but even in the dark, it's obvious that she has been. "I'm sorry. I just had to go somewhere." She thought about going to Jess, but Jess has a way of making her feel like even more of an asshole.

"You're welcome here, of course," T'Challa says, eyebrows pinching together. "Do you want to come in where it is warmer, perhaps?"

"Sure," Carol says, although she doesn't really care. Maybe she shouldn't have come. She doesn't really deserve someone being nice to her right now.

"Come in," T'Challa says more firmly, and it's easier than it usually is to remember that he's a king.

"Coming," Carol says unhappily. She follows him in, trying to decide which part of what happened is the most important. It doesn't really matter, though. It just sort of comes out. "We drove her away," she says.

T'Challa pauses with his finger on the button to shut the doors to the roof behind them. He pushes it a second later, and then turns to Carol properly. 

"I do not think Jessica Drew is a woman who stays put once she has decided something in her situation is not worth tolerating," he says. "She is very strong, but I think perhaps she does not care for some kinds of confrontation?" He shrugs. "I am saying, it is possible."

"I know," Carol says. "And we made it--not worth tolerating. I mean, I did. I got in that fight with her, and I made this--Look, this isn't even a team. We have no direction, no purpose. I should be better than this." She'll be damned if she's going to start crying again.

T'Challa says, "Would you like a drink of my favorite Wakandan beverage?"

Carol opens her mouth to say something that's probably racist, then catches herself. "Uh, sure. Thanks."

T'Challa is nice enough not to look at her sideways. He lets her into his suite, here at the top floor, and says, "One moment." 

He comes back from the kitchen very quickly and hands her a glass.

"Water," he says, raising his eyebrows innocently. "The most wondrous liquid, the key to life! And New York water tastes pretty good, too."

Carol laughs, suddenly weak with relief. "Thanks, asshole," she says. "I--I just don't know what to do. Everything she said was true, you know? We are a bad team, and that's because I'm a bad leader. Who wouldn't go join HYDRA?"

"Not me," T'Challa says. "Carol--did you speak with her?"

Carol bites her lip. "This is where I sound like an idiot. I went to their base. Just waited outside till they let me in to see her. They let me do it and they let me leave. So I guess I'm not much of a threat."

"I suppose they must think Jessica won't leave even if she knows you are trying to rescue her," T'Challa says. He's leading Carol into a friendly blue-and-green room full of plants, with skylights overhead. He sits down on a chair, and points out another to Carol.

Carol sits and drinks some of the water. Definitely better than going to see Jess.

"And they're right. So what the hell do I do now?"

T'Challa says, "Just because she didn't come with you this time does not mean she won't. She did not stay with HYDRA before."

"Am I supposed to wait?" Carol asks. "Because whatever she says--And whatever _Viper_ says--I don't trust those assholes."

"That I do not know," T'Challa says. "Perhaps we will have to wait until they prove themselves untrustworthy, and then hope we might be vigilant and lucky enough to arrive when we are needed again."

"Oh yeah?" Carol asks. "And what if they prove themselves untrustworthy by doing something we can't undo? What if they really hurt her?" It's HYDRA, after all. Who's to say Viper won't turn right around and decide she wants revenge for Jessica leaving before?

T'Challa says seriously, "Carol. What do you think will happen to her if you drag her out against her will?"

"I know," Carol says. "Fuck. I know. Nothing good. So basically you're saying we don't have any good options."

"Not tonight," T'Challa says. "Tomorrow, however, we will think if there is something new to try. Or, we will keep waiting. I suspect you will hate me a little for suggesting it, if waiting is what we must do."

"A little," Carol says morosely. "God, if this is the part where I learn to be a better team leader, it's not working. I'm just learning all the ways I fuck up and don't now how to stop."

T'Challa hesitates before he says, "I am not sure it is wise to conflate how you deal with Jessica and how you lead your team. As a team leader, you are learning, yes, as we are learning to be a team. We are none of us naturals. But I believe perhaps that matters with you and Jessica are different. It will certainly only hurt you, and your team, if you treat your mistakes with her as part of your career and not, foremost, a matter of your private heart." He smiles. "Although I will swear I do not know a thing about any feelings you might have."

For some reason, T'Challa knowing about Carol's stupid _feelings_ is comforting rather than embarrassing. Probably because he's a fucking _king_ and he still joined her team and became her friend.

"Thanks. Seriously. I'm just afraid the way I run this team is part of what drove her away. I don't want it to happen with anyone else."

"I do not think anyone wishes to leave," T'Challa says. "Jessica was unhappy for a long time, and it was each of us who chose to ignore it. Let's not ignore it again and I believe your team will be all right."

"Okay," Carol says numbly. "I, thanks. I appreciate it. I'm going to make this team better from now on, okay?" She just wants to go home and cry and drink.

"Carol," T'Challa says. He gets up and comes over to her, lays an arm across her shoulder and back. "I do not think any of us planned this, not even Jessica. I do not think she will stay with them forever. And I do not think you are a failure, either!"

"Jesus," Carol says. Then she starts crying again.

T’Challa is rarely physical with any of them, but he hugs Carol now, and it’s not surprising that he’s good at it. Carol sobs and holds on, because even though he's the wrong person to forgive her, it matters that he thinks she deserves it.

When she's finally calmed down a little, she says hoarsely, "I'm really glad I came here."

T'Challa releases her and sits back down. "I am glad you came as well. There, you see: we are becoming a good team after all. I am glad to think we could all depend on one another a little more."

Carol guesses they've done all right in the past few days. Luke and Danny called her when they needed her, anyway.

She smiles. "I should go home and get some sleep."

"That is a good idea," T'Challa says. "Perhaps I will see you tomorrow."

“Tomorrow, we're having a meeting," Carol says. "And we're deciding what to do. Together." She finishes her glass of water and gets to her feet. "One o'clock. Be there.”

"Of course," T'Challa says.

Carol flies home, not crying this time. When she gets there, she's too tired to even open a beer or anything stronger. She just drags herself out of her uniform and falls into bed.

Tomorrow they can decide what to do about Jessica.


	51. jan and steve have some suggestions for the b team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hello, team," Steve says, and frowns. "Does your team have a name?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: none?

Tony calls Jan and Steve to something that looks like a supply closet and isn't on any of the blueprints of the Tower. It's not exactly elegant, as meeting-places go, but it'll take Magneto's people a long time to decide to bother them there.

"Okay," he says, once they're inside, "I have a mission for you."

"I cannot _wait_ until we get rid of these guys," Jan says. "This is not dignified. And Gambit's flirting is getting really old. I'm pretty sure Natasha is just going to kill him soon. What've you got for us, boss?"

"Spider-Woman," Tony says. "She's fallen into HYDRA's clutches. Ms. Marvel and her team could really use the support, and honestly, I'm not sure how much good any of us is doing here." It's a horribly claustrophobic feeling, being stuck in the Tower right now.

"Jessica Drew?" Jan asks. "I've met her a couple times. She's nice."

"I've never heard that," Steve says dubiously.

"Some people don't know what to look for in a lady," Jan says. "HYDRA kidnapped her? That's awful! I'm sure we can fill in as support. Are they--they _are_ going in after her, right?"

Tony sighs. "I don't know. I guess it's a little complicated. They're not sure she wants to leave. There's a chance she might have gone back to HYDRA as a friendlier alternative."

He shrugs as if he's apologizing for--well, anyone in the whole situation. He still feels shitty for Jessica, and now for Carol, too. (And god, he wants a drink.)

"Oh, that's...awful," Jan says. "Do you want us to help them or help _her?"_

"And do you want us to help out the team, or help them on this one mission?" Steve adds.

Tony messes up his hair and thinks about it. "This mission. But if you could find a way to give Carol some pointers on not running her team into the ground, that probably wouldn't hurt. Then you can give me the pointers." He grins lopsidedly. "I don't know, just ask them what they need. I'd like to know what Jessica wants before anyone does anything."

"D'you think she's got a good reason to leave the team?" Jan asks. "I know Carol's your friend. It's a little weird to hear you talking like she might be the bad guy, you know."

"Carol's got most of my flaws and none of my friends," Tony says, feeling bad about it. He's supposed to be on her side. Usually. "She and Jessica already had a run-in. I don't know about the rest of the team."

"Got it," Jan says grimly. "Well, don't worry. I don't think either of us are about to let authority boss us into something we really don't agree with."

"That sounds about right," Steve says.

Tony smiles. "I thought you two might be up to the task. Go easy on Carol, though. She's really upset. Jessica's pretty important to her." In whatever way.

"We'll be nice as long as we can be nice," Jan promises.

"I figure she'll resent you and respect Steve," Tony says.

"Hah!" Jan says. "Well, good to know. Why, now?"

Tony rolls his eyes and remembers meeting Jan. "Because you're a rich liberal party-girl. Who can probably kick her ass in an argument."

Jan considers. She doesn't mind that. Actually, she likes it a lot. "I'll try not to tick her off too much, 'kay? I bet Steve'll end up annoying her way more, and she won't even know why."

" _I_ don't even know why," Tony says. Then he remembers something less pleasant. "Oh, Steve, she might be a little--weird. I kind of mentioned that I quit drinking and it was a more of a bombshell than I'd anticipated." Or more than he'd hoped, at least.

"Ah," says Steve. "Got it." He thinks maybe that's going to be the why that Jan and Tony are looking for. "When do you want us to go?"

"Sooner would be better," Tony says. "Before Magneto's people catch on. Besides, it would be nice for some of us to get a chance to be useful."

"We'll scoot," Steve says.

"Whenever we can get out of this cupboard," Jan says.

~

The last thing Carol feels like doing in the morning is calling a meeting, but she does. She feels like she should have learned something, such as how to make a solid plan and wow everyone with her leadership skills. Instead, she still doesn't know what the right thing to do is. Maybe waiting is the right thing. But she should at least let everyone know what happened last night.

So she calls a meeting and shows up to Luke, Jess, and Danny's house in her uniform, as ready as she'll ever be.

Luke is looking better than he has, but Danny is sticking to him like glue, and Jess is looking subtly more grim than usual. T'Challa is looking quietly encouraging, but of course he isn't pushy or mean enough to say anything.

"So!" Bobbi says brightly. She looks exhausted. "What's the latest?"

Carol sighs. "The latest is that I went and talked to Jessica. She's with HYDRA. By choice."

Everyone in the room visibly deflates.

"Damn," Danny says.

"It's good that she's alive," Jess says.

"Yeah, but," Danny starts, and then just looks down at his hands. "What did Viper even do to get her to trust them? She was so upset after we went in."

"As far as I can tell, she lied to her," Carol says. "Jessica had a lot of true stuff to say about us, but she also had a lot of stuff that's never been true. Right, Luke?"

Luke looks troubled. "Yeah. Nobody on this team gave her trouble except for you, and I thought you two were doing okay."

"I don't know," Danny says. "Maybe we were screwing up and we didn't even know it. Or maybe she just misses them. I mean, she was a kid there, right? Basically."

"I do not think we should despair yet," T'Challa says. "Even if Jessica wanted to go back to something familiar, I do not think she wishes to harm anyone. She will not stay with HYDRA long."

"I can't believe this," Bobbi says furiously. "They're sick. HYDRA just preys on people who they think can't stand up to them. Well, they're gonna find out they're wrong about her."

"You think?" Danny says. "I don't know. I think Viper really thinks she's protecting her. I think she actually cares. In a psychopath kind of a way."

"Fucking doubtful," Bobbi snaps.

Carol wishes she could agree with Bobbi's S.H.I.E.L.D.-born hatred of all things HYDRA, but Danny read Viper's feelings. "It doesn't matter all that much," she says. "Jessica wants to stay, and at least for the moment, she's safe. We can't exactly drag her out of there, even that's what we all want to do."

"Then what--" Jess started, but the buzzer rings. "Hang on."

She goes to the buzzer and hits the speaker. "Hello?"

"This is Steve Rogers," says the speaker. "Is this Ms. Jones? Jan and I came to stop by."

"Tony wasn't kidding," Carol says, surprised. She wasn't sure how serious Tony had been about his offer to help. 

"Just those two?" Bobbi asks, sounding disappointed.

"I'll buzz you up," Jess says, and does. She turns to Bobbi. "They are practically under house arrest with half of Magneto's personal favorites dogging them twenty-four hours a day. If they sent everybody I bet it wouldn't go unnoticed for long."

"No, I just--never mind." Bobbi subsides, blushing a little. Carol ignores her aggressively while Jess buzzes the Avengers in.

They thump up the stairs and knock at the apartment door a minute later. Jan stands a little forward of Steve, and she comes in practically before Jess opens the door.

"Hello, team," Steve says, and frowns. "Does your team have a name?"

"Oh god," says Danny.

"Team will do for now," Carol says sharply. "Nice of you to join us." It comes out more harshly than she'd like.

"Any time," Jan says. "Literally, any time. We were just glad to get away from Magneto's creeps." She waves at them all, making eye contact. "I'm Wasp, for those of you who don't know!"

Danny smiles widely and waves at her. So does T'Challa.

"Tony briefed us on your situation," Steve says. "He sent us to help with anything you need."

"Guess he was true to his word," Luke says, sounding a little skeptical.

"Yes," Carol says, "and we appreciate. Unfortunately, we're at a little bit of a standstill. Jessica's exactly where she wants to be." All she can do is remember acutely her last conversation with Steve.

"Maybe so," Steve says. "Maybe not." He doesn't really think she would stay there, personally, but it's not his place to tell her team what he thinks she thinks. "In any case, there's a lot to do in New York that has nothing to do with Spider-Woman or HYDRA. Even if you don't strictly speaking need our help, we would sure love to be away from the Tower until we can find a way out of this situation with the Brotherhood hanging around the house."

"How's that going, anyway?" Bobbi asks. "How's the team holding up?"

"As far as I know?" Steve says. "Everyone is doing just fine. A little on edge, and no room to maneuver, but I don't think anyone's about to ignite the conflict Magneto is looking for. Not as long as Bruce keeps himself out of the picture."

"I hear he got married," Carol says dryly.

"Without telling us!" Jan exclaims, nodding.

"But Thor is here?" Danny says. "Poor baby. That's got to put him in a temper. You're gonna have to watch and make sure he doesn't start the war in his husband's place."

"We're hoping he manages," Steve says.

"If not, I'm sure we'll all know," Carol says. "Here, have a seat. We were just discussing what we should do next."

Jan makes herself smaller and perches on the couch by Danny's elbow. "Great! We can help with that. We're full of ideas. I love your house, by the way, Jewel."

You can call me Jess," Jess says. "And thanks. I like it. It's always miraculously clean."

"That's right," says Danny smugly.

"You must be the miracle," Jan says. "Okay, so I'm guessing you're not recruiting us for a rescue mission?"

"Mm," Luke says, looking troubled.

"Not for now?" Danny says, looking at Carol sideways.

"I believe if an attempt is to be made," T'Challa says, "it will have to wait until we have made ourselves into a more convincing prospect."

"How are we gonna do that, exactly?" Luke demands. "I believe HYDRA's gonna look worse, but I have a time believing we're gonna look much better."

"Why not?" Steve asks. "If you don't mind."

"Do you two want to sit?" Jess asks. She points them to the part of the couch that she has vacated. They do, and she says, "I have to admit I don't even know what the problem is. I don't know how we'd fix anything, if we don't know what's broken."

"Perhaps if we were more efficient, morale would be higher," T'Challa suggests.

"So I've been told," Carol says grumpily. "By Jessica."

"But that can't be the whole problem," Jan says. "I mean, is that enough to drive someone to HYDRA?"

"To be fair, she's got connections there," Luke says.

"Yeah," Danny says, "which matters. But I know _you_ know that's not it. Not all of it, anyway."

"I messed up," Carol says miserably, looking at Steve. "You know I did. And I think maybe HYDRA made that into an even bigger problem than it was." Maybe, she realizes with a jolt, Viper is trying to prove that she's the kind of woman Carol is not.

Danny keeps his mouth shut, but he looks nearly pained with curiosity. Steve says, "I think this is a private issue. It may be important, but jumping into things is probably not going to bring her back."

Danny says, "Noted. But what do those of us who _don't_ know what's going on get to do in the meantime?"

"There is something," Steve says. "And it has nothing to do with Jessica."

Luke looks interested. Bobbi looks dubious.

“Explain," Carol says.

"Magneto is looking for war," Steve says. "We're pretty sure of that. I don't think anyone on my team believes he would have let Wanda come to the tower at all if he couldn't use it for everything it was worth." He checks with Jan.

Jan nods. "Yeah, he's a tool. And unfortunately, he's also really good at getting what he wants."

"And you think we can stop that without it getting politically complicated?" Bobbi asks skeptically.

"No," says Steve. "I think it's highly suspicious that of all the resources he's got on hand to start this war, he hasn't tapped you."  
"Oh," Bobbi says.

Carol frowns. "What does that imply, exactly? We might not even be on his radar." But even she knows that Magneto's practically as psychic as Professor X.

Steve looks at her like she might be stupider than he expected. " _We_ know you're the reason Wanda Maximoff came looking for her twin. You think Magneto doesn't? You got into his daughter's bedroom and out again and you didn't get caught, and when he _did_ catch you, he just...let you go? I'm not saying you're incompetent, but it takes a lot more than competence to get that lucky with a man like him."

Carol makes a noise of frustration. If there's one thing she hates, it's being played. "Then either we're already doing exactly what he wants, or he's waiting for the right moment to use us."

"I think he's waiting," Steve says. "If his leverage with the public starts slipping, he'll use it. I don't know how, but I bet he will. And I bet things got a whole lot better for him the minute one of your teammates joined HYDRA."

Luke stands up. "Look, I know it's not 'politically sensitive,' but why can't we stop this problem at the source? Everyone knows he's a murderer. What's to stop us arresting him? He may be tough, but what the hell else are we were for?"

"Because," Steve says, "he's not an American. And the only place to extradite him is his own country. Maybe at some levels of government, hunting down the leaders of foreign nations becomes accepted, if not entirely acceptable, but the day a superhero team tries it, they'll be nothing but terrorists."

Luke grimaces, but he sits down. "Sometimes I fucking hate the law," he mutters.

"Okay," Jan says firmly, "so I'm assuming you have a plan, Steve. I'm assuming you didn't just bring up an alarming fact for no reason."

Carol wouldn't be surprised.

"Not _no_ reason," Steve says. "I'm not going to tell you what you should do, but you're going to want to do something. Otherwise we're going somewhere bad."

"Any thoughts in particular?" Danny asks. 

Steve exhales. "Well," he says. "I think your best bet might be to make the same move he did. I think you should offer your help."

"Oh," Danny says. "I'm not a huge fan of that."

"Agreed," Luke says.

Bobbi nods.

Carol takes a breath and shuts her eyes. She can already see how this is going to go, and as much as she wants to agree with them, she can't.

"If you offer to help him," Steve says, "you'll take some wind out of his sails. It might not be enough, but I feel fairly certain it'll save lives."

"No," says Danny, "I _know._ " He looks at his team. "He'll play this like it's new to _him._ Like everybody can be shocked at the same time that _another_ superhero team came after his kid and maybe got her killed. It'll be even worse than he thought and everybody will agree. Especially when they find out we're not mutants and Jessica's gone...back."

"We can't give him what he wants," Bobbi agrees. "That's not how we do things.”

Wait," Carol says. "I know we're a team, but I'm the leader. And I think—” _Suck it up, Danvers,_ she tells herself. “I think that Steve is right.”

"Right," Danny says. "So we have to figure out how we're going to be the first ones to bring it up without completely screwing ourselves and everybody else."

"It's a very delicate matter to bring up in public," T'Challa agrees. "Though it should certainly be in public. Oh! But I should not be there. International politics are difficult enough with only three countries involved."  
"Good point," Bobbi says grudgingly, "but--"

"We're doing it," Carol says. "End of story. Anyone else think they shouldn't be there?"

Luke glowers. "I still think it's a bad idea, but I'll be there."

"Good," Steve says. He pauses for a breath and tries to keep his thoughts together. This is really the first big deal thing he's done in the field since he fell in Asgard. His grip on a bearable mood isn't that tenuous, but there is some stress involved. He pushes on. "Because I had an idea about you, actually, Black Panther."

"Oh?" T'Challa answers.

"As I understand it, Wakanda's technology is some of the best in the world," Steve says. He swallows. "And Hank Pym is still out of the country. If you two hook up—"

Danny makes a coughing little _hmm_ noise, and Jess puts a quelling arm on his shoulder. 

"--you might have better luck figuring out the Latveria problem, with Hank’s assist, and without interference from Magneto," Steve finishes.

"That's smart," Jan says, sounding half surprised and half calculating. "Hank would like a friend."

"And the rest of us should call a press conference," Carol says. She's very clear on this kind of proceeding. It's the most efficient way.

"So the only question is, what _exactly_ to say," Danny says. He turns to Carol. "You should talk, of course. I could write you a script."

" _You? ___" Carol asks. T'Challa's the only one who's remotely polite enough, and he can't be there.

"What?" Danny says. "I have moves."

"We'll collaborate," Carol says tactfully. "I guess I'm not great at lying to pull one over on an asshole."

"I think I could help here," Jess says, "if you don't mind an extra head."

Carol wants to say that she does mind, but this isn't the time for whatever guilt Jess is likely to induce. "Sure," she says. "You're good with people." That's partly true.

"My recommendation would be," T'Challa says, "that you announce your previous visit to Genosha and apologize for your ill-considered meddling. Although you do not know whether your visit had anything to do with Wanda's visit to New York and subsequent disappearance, you are extremely disturbed to think it may have contributed. Therefore you wish to offer your services to ensure the twins' safety and wellbeing." He frowns. "If I were you I would avoid mentioning me, or offering to help Magneto rather than the twins themselves."

Carol sighs. "Yeah," she says, "it's really too bad we can't just send you. That line okay with everyone?"

"Yeah, all right," Luke says. "I hate playing these games, but if it'll save the kids, it's fine."

"You're helping yourselves, too," Steve says.

"I believe that," says Danny. "Cap's right. It's impossible to get away scott-free from Genosha. He's going to punish us _somehow."_

"I kind of hoped he forgot about us," Bobbi says, without much conviction.

"Magneto never forgets," Jan says.

Danny says, "At least if T'Challa and Jessica aren't here, this isn't going to get them outed." He doesn't sound upset, but only because he rarely does. Jess puts her hand on his neck, gentle. "Not everyone knows who you are, sweetie," she points out. 

"They could google it," Danny says. "Whatever. That's not a problem. I just don't like spotlights very much." That's an understatement. No one here is unaware that of all of them, Danny is the most used to working under the radar.

"I'll make sure everyone's focused on me," Carol says. "I don't mind taking the heat. That's what leaders do, and besides, I don't give a damn. I'm about as public as you can get without being Tony, anyway."

Danny nods. 

"You don't have to go," Jess says.

"Yes, I do," Danny says. "I think it would look pretty suspicious if our team was suddenly half the size it normally is. Not that many people have to know we exist to make it a problem when three people are suddenly missing."

"Well, you know I don't mind being public," Bobbi sighs.

"As long as you don't call me Power Man," Luke agrees.

"Great!" Jan says. "This might be a good chance for you guys to get back some of your street cred or whatever."

"Flattered," Carol says dryly.

"It's a lot better than waiting for Magneto to discredit you completely," Steve points out.

"I know, I know," Carol sighs. "Don't worry, we're on board. Listen, thanks. I guess we needed the help." It stings to admit, but what else could she do, at this point?

"I think at the moment, we could all use each other's help," Steve says. He turns to T'Challa. "So what do you think about Hank?"

"I would be delighted to work with Dr. Pym," T'Challa says cheerily.

Jan lights up. "Oh, _good!_ Hank's mentioned your work a few times, which is more than he usually does for anyone. I'll tell him you're coming!"

"If you let me know where he is, I can meet him in my jet," T'Challa says.

"Sure, it's cute now, but wait until this friendship with the Avengers starts getting us involved in their drama," Danny says. He smiles at Bobbi.

Bobbi winces, and Carol says, "Then I probably screwed us for life when I started getting friendly with Tony, huh?"

"Some of us don't have drama," Jan says loftily.

Steve smiles. He feels his nerves fraying, but it isn't their fault.

"And some of us do. Now we've just got to live with it. All right--Jan can get you in touch with Hank, and then we'll leave you to figure out the fine print of what you're going to say to the press. This isn't how I like to play things either, so I'm sorry this is how it's working out."

"So am I," Carol says earnestly. If her options are going into a situation that's not her show or having it be her show and fucking it up again, she'll take this offer.

"We'll get through this," Jan says. "We'll even get the twins back." She doesn't really sound like she believes it. She flutters over to stand on the floor before growing to her normal size again.

"I'm sorry," Danny says. "That your friends are missing." He doesn't add, _I'm sorry that it's probably our fault for getting Wanda riled up._ Things are shitty enough as it is. 

"But we will try to solve that particular problem," T'Challa says. "I'll go right away. I will contact Dr. Pym from my plane; I am sure that once he knows how circumstances here have deteriorated he will leave even his most beloved research to come to the aid of his friends. He is a good man. We will discover the fate of Latveria, that I promise." 

It can't be said of T'Challa that he isn't a man of his word. As soon as he's finished speaking, he nods to everyone and promptly leaves.

"Which leaves us," Jess says. "Who's up for a press conference tomorrow afternoon?"

"If the press will have us?" Danny says. "Sounds great.”


	52. mystique and magneto watch the news

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Oh," says Magneto, "I see."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: bad parenting

By the time Mystique visits Genosha again, she's itching for any excuse to get out of the damn Avengers Tower. For a place that big, it shouldn't be as claustrophobic as it is. It's probably all the cameras. Or all the humans.

As always, though, she's here on business, so she doesn't linger. She just goes to the room where Magneto is most likely to be and lets herself in.

"Mystique," Magneto greets her, turning around. He always turns around for her. "Something to report?"

"Yes," she says. "Something that couldn't wait and that I didn't want to send by telephone or computer. Something you may already know, because one of us knows it."

Magneto raises an eyebrow. "I assume, then," he says, "that it's something we can use. Go on."

Mystique wonders if he'll say the same thing when she tells him. She wonders if she cares all that much about the answer. "If you're looking for more reasons the Avengers were bad for Pietro, then yes," she says.

Magneto frowns. "It is easy enough to further damage someone as troubled as Pietro. I am not surprised that you've found something." An odd expression crosses his face. "Wanda would be very unhappy to hear that her brother had been harmed by his so-called protectors."

Mystique has absolutely no interest in making this about Wanda, but Wanda is also the reason she almost didn't bring this to Magneto. If Wanda finds out, "unhappy" will be an understatement. "I'm not exactly thrilled about it myself," she says shortly. "Stark's undead mentor apparently used Pietro to hurt the Avengers." Mystique crosses her arms, uncomfortable.

Magneto looks impassively into the air behind Mystique's head. "You're speaking around the details," he says. "So I think it must make you unhappy to say them, but it would be of use for me to know what exactly was done to my son. If you'd rather not say, you may write it down."

Mystique bristles. She would follow Magneto to the end of the world (and has, a few times), but sometimes she can see why Pietro calls him cold. "Obadiah Stane," she says, "told Pietro he was a mutant who needed help, got him into bed, hurt him, used him to hurt the Avengers, then cut him loose and told him why. It's not the first time Pietro's gotten himself in trouble with bad--things, either."

"I see," Magneto says. He's quiet a few seconds longer, and then he meets her eyes. He is, as always, hard to read. Mystique knows that his attitude of calm doesn't mean anything either way; he might be hurt, that Pietro has been hurt. He might not. He's certainly willing to use it, in either case. "Their past came to haunt my child. And I've sent my daughter there in good faith, and now the Avengers have lost them both. Well. I think that in the worst scenario, we have the tools at our hands to bring about justice."

"I hope it doesn't come to that," Mystique says. Make no mistake, she wishes the twins had never come into her life, but she still cares about innocents being hurt. Besides, she sometimes feels, unfairly, that Magneto should care where she does not. "I'm sure the public will be horrified," she adds belatedly. Horror is something the public does very well.

"Mystique, you know we have been coming to _something_ for a very long time," Magneto says. "If not this, there will be something else. Let us show them the monsters in what they worship before we can be made further monsters ourselves."

Mystique understands that language well enough, at least. "Do you want anything done? Or do we wait until we hear more news from Pietro and Wanda?"

"Soon I think we'll have to move without--" Magneto starts, but his attention is drawn to the entryway. "Toad. Is there something you need?"

"There's something we're all about to need, and that's an adjustment to our plans," Toad says proudly, as if he knows the first thing about their plans. "We're on TV. Or, uh, some superheroes are. Just turn it on, okay?"

If you insist," Magneto frowns, and turns on the monitor hung on the far wall. He flips past several channels before he sees what Toad is on about. These are some familiar characters. And he hadn't expected them to be so visible, not just yet. Not by choice.

"--we apologize deeply. More importantly," Ms. Marvel is saying, her team grouped behind her, "whether or not our unconsidered actions played any part in Wanda and Pietro Maximoff's disappearance, we consider all of the Avengers our friends, and the loss of any young person is a tragedy. Therefore, we extend an offer of help in ensuring the safety of the Maximoffs, and whatever that entails that we're able to give."

"Oh," says Magneto, "I see."

"Is this bad?" Toad asks dubiously. "They worst they'll do is kind of get in the way, right?"

"We need to ask what kind of effect they're trying to produce," Mystique says, annoyed. "This was clearly a calculated move."

"The effect," Magneto says, "is that now we can't 'discover' their trespass on Genosha, and put them under public scrutiny before they know it's coming. The effect is that they are publicly on our side instead of our primary suspects."

"How did they know?" Toad asks, sounding awe-struck.

"Clearly they aren't as stupid as we thought," Mystique says. "That's annoying. But not impossible to work with."

"No," Magneto says. "Not impossible. There's no reason we should welcome their help with open arms...and, on the other hand, I am sure they've done something we can still be shocked by. You'll find out what that is, I have no doubt," he tells Mystique.

Mystique smiles, hiding her uneasiness under pride. She doesn't like working with new people, before she knows all their little secrets and what buttons to push. "No doubt. Do you want me to infiltrate them?"

"I trust you to do what will work best," Magneto says. "But only after I have made my official position clear." He frowns. "Toad, you may go."

Toad looks ready to argue, but of course he doesn't.

When he's gone, Mystique says, "Do you think they're actually sorry? About Wanda?"

"I wonder," Magneto says. "Their attentions arose more from fear of Wanda's powers than from concern for her wellbeing."

"So they're doing this just to avoid looking bad when you bring them into it?" Mystique asks. She's skeptical, but she needs to know more. "Well, it doesn't matter. I'll find out how to get what we need. At least it's better than working with Gambit. I don't trust him."  
"Nor should you," Magneto says. "He's a con. But I have no reason to believe he will act against us. If and when he tries, he will fail."

Mystique disagrees, violently, but only because she doesn't trust anyone. Except Magneto. "I hope you're right," she says.

Magneto very nearly grins at her. "My dear friend," he says, "at his worst, he is still Gambit. What can he possibly do that constitutes an actual threat?"

Mystique isn't sure she agrees with that entirely, either. "Mm. I'll report back when I've found out what the new team is up to. Do they have a name, by the way?"

"As far as I know, they're too incompetent to need one."

"Don't underestimate them," Mystique says. It's not her job to give advice, but she's worried. The whole situation is too big to handle, in her opinion.

Magneto considers. "You're right, of course," he says. "It is good that you look out for me. I am fortunate."

She laughs, gratified. It's why she stays. "I don't think we'll lose. But we should be careful."

Magneto nods. "Tell me what you find," he says.

"Of course."

She leaves, shifting bodies as she walks out the door.


	53. t'challa and hank pym cover ground in wakanda

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hank, however, thinks in a pleasing set of patterns--some of them are very familiar, and some of them are endlessly surprising.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: none

T'Challa arrives in advance of Dr. Pym, feeling jolly under the circumstances. He likes Pym better than most of the Avengers, although he tolerates them all well enough. Hank, however, thinks in a pleasing set of patterns--some of them are very familiar, and some of them are endlessly surprising. T'Challa appreciates that.

He talks briefly with his counselors and those of his people who see him land, and then goes straight to the communications tower to wait for Pym.

Hank, who has been having a very pleasant time with ants, tries not to be annoyed at being interrupted. After all, the Avengers are his team, and if they need something, he's willing to drop everything else. And it's sometimes a relief when they remember he's part of the team. But he was getting quite involved with some complicated (and _large_ ) new discoveries, so this isn't the best timing.

He goes to meet T'Challa, relieved that it's not anyone else from the new team. They all seem a little disorganized, but T'Challa usually knows what he's doing. He hopes that's still true, and T’Challa hasn’t been ruined by his dubious new affiliations.

T'Challa meets him at the foot of the communications tower. "I am glad you are here, my friend," he says. "Now, I assume that you have been properly briefed--no, I will assume you have _not_ been properly briefed, so let us go get you something to eat and I will explain as well as I can. Then we will go to Latveria!"

Hank winces. He was hoping that wouldn't be the next step, because even on a good day, Latveria is nothing but trouble. "Okay," he says. "I'd rather hear it from you, anyway. Communications from the other Avengers are always a little...scattered." He gives T'Challa an apologetic smile.

"Ah," says T'Challa, ushering him towards an open space with a permanent awning above and tables below. A woman is already setting down dishes, and he nods to her in thanks. "That I can understand. Now, you know that we were attempting to establish contact between Wanda Maximoff and her brother, your teammate Pietro..."

Hank nods. "Unsuccessfully, yes."

"Not exactly," T'Challa grimaces. "After we spoke to you, we made contact with the rest of your team, and then returned to Genosha with a message from Pietro. Unfortunately my teammates were captured. I do not know if Wanda read the message, but she did arrive at Avengers Tower later that evening."

"Upsetting everyone, I'm sure," Hank says. He wonders if fixing any of this is in his skill set. It involves feelings and not ants, though.

"I believe that under the circumstances, things went surprisingly well," T'Challa says. "However, two days later, Pietro and Wanda vanished from Pietro's apartment, and at the same time, Latveria became completely inaccessible from the outside. No way in, not even communications."

That's the most worrying part of all. "Right," Hank says. "For some reason."

"Indeed," T'Challa agrees, taking a bite. "And unsurprisingly, Magneto found out. I do not know if it was part of a plan of his, but he is certainly using it. He is playing the kidnap of his children to the public, and he has installed three of his agents in the tower to 'assist' with the investigation." He frowns. "I imagine things will become worse when he realizes that Spider-Woman has left us to rejoin with HYDRA."

Hank raises his eyebrows. "Oh. I didn't know that part. Mind if I ask what happened?"

T'Challa shakes his head. "You may ask, but I am not entirely certain. I do not think Jessica Drew is an evil person. I believe something drew her back or drove her away--what, however, I do not know."

As far as Hank can tell, this kind of thing just happens from time to time. "Are you trying to bring her back or take her in?"

"That depends on what you mean by 'you,'" T'Challa says carefully. "Luke and Iron Fist have made an attempt, as has Carol, but I--do not think our interference is necessarily the best of plans. I do not think I know her well enough to know what we _should_ do. I only hope that the others are making the right choices for the right reasons."

"Doubtful," Hank mutters, thinking of his own team. "Well, I hope she comes back! HYDRA's not a good place for anyone to be stuck, whether or not they think they want to be."

T'Challa smiles. "I will agree with that. So, Dr. Pym, would you like to hear what your place in this situation will be?"

Hank braces himself. "Go for it."

T'Challa's smile broadens. "We are going to attempt to break into Latveria. Which does not exist."

Hank grins, and relaxes. "Oh, is that all? I like a challenge."

"I know," says T'Challa. "Come, Dr. Pym. Bring your lunch. I wish to show you my ideas."

Hank leaps to his feet. "You don't have to tell me twice."


	54. magneto and viper both get around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "No matter what, you're going to wind up doing what Magneto wants if you stay here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: none? intrigue!

Whether or not Carol Danvers is surprised at being invited, alone, to meet with Magneto, she is striving beautifully to look as though she isn't. 

"Ms. Marvel, I believe?" Magneto asks, standing some feet away from her with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Magneto," Carol answers. She doesn't come any closer; she just stops and poses, legs apart, hands on hips. She may be contrite about what happened with Wanda, but she's not going to walk in here looking weak. "You wanted to see me?" She's not crazy about being back on Genosha so soon, but there wasn't really another option.

"Yes indeed," Magneto says. "I wanted to talk to you, as one leader to another, about what your recent declarations mean to both of us. I wanted to talk to you as a concerned father, also; your apology comes a little late, and I still have reason to doubt your innocence."

Carol inclines her head. "I can't blame you. You've been deprived of both your children and I know we're at least partly to blame. I want to make things right." She can feel herself getting angry and tries to channel one of her teammates who'd do better. _Be Jess Jones_ , she tells herself. _Stress everyone out without losing your temper._

“Hmm," says Magneto. "It seems only reasonable, in that case, that your team collaborate with my people and the...Avengers. Perhaps it is time that I take a leading role in this search; between all of you, it seems no one is making headway or any plan worth the name."

Carol grits her teeth and tries not to look surprised. "I wondered why you hadn't already, but I'm sure you're a busy man."

"Perhaps you forget," Magneto says. "You lead only a small team, and how often does that go awry? I lead an entire country. I did not realize that the competency of my own people would be overwhelmed by the incompetence of you and your human friends. Since it is, however..."

Carol thinks about where her powers came from, and how one energy blast from her hand could probably take Magneto out entirely.

"We'll welcome any help," she says, smiling. "We just want the twins back safety." That part, at least, is true.

"Yes," Magneto says smoothly. "You do."

Carol takes that as the threat it is and reminds herself that he is _very good_ with the public. Somehow. "Well, all of our resources are at your disposal. Even if we're a little disorganized, we have a pretty good range of powers and skills."

"So I hear," Magneto says, as though he doesn't entirely believe it. "Bring your team to the tower, Ms. Marvel, and I will let you know what you may do."

Every single detail of this situation is exactly the kind of thing Carol can't deal with, but she forces herself to say, "Don't worry, we'll be there."

This had better be worth it. If it's not, she's going to punch Magneto, and then Steve.

~

The arrival of Ms. Marvel's team at the tower had been lackluster. Unless Magneto threw more mutants at the Avengers, his people wouldn't be able to tail and spy on everyone else at all times--that was a benefit. But the superhero side of this fiasco was teetering in the public eye. They hate Magneto, they're protecting his children from him, they are helping to get those children back--whatever their plan is, they are needing larger and larger teams to accomplish, apparently, nothing. 

Natasha does not like this state of affairs (she hates working under public scrutiny more than almost anything else), but not least because she isn't sure where it's leading. 

Mageto has made the threat, through Mystique, that he is arriving himself tomorrow morning, to sort out their failures of organization. It's unsurprising that no one--mutant, Avengers, or Marvel's team--looked _happy_ at the end of their forced and hostile meeting.

Logan doesn't appreciate repeatedly being dragged into this mess, but if he's stuck in the Tower anyway, he wants to help end this as quickly as possible. When they're done being raked over the coals by Magneto--Logan keeping to the back and not saying anything--he lets Natasha take him aside. He'd rather talk to her than anyone else, anyway. Besides, if anyone's quarters are going to be free of bugs and cameras...

"So, how do you think it went?" Logan growls, once Natasha's door is shut.

"I don't know," Natasha says. "It is worrying. From all appearances, the search is failing but Magneto is keeping his temper. If nothing happens soon, the public will not care any longer. So what is he banking on? What is he building towards?"

"Wish I knew," Logan says. "Because believe me, he's got a plan. Probably three or four plans. And we're walking straight into any of 'em he wants."

Natasha nods. She doesn't pace, because pacing doesn't help her. She doesn't sit down, either.

"I had assumed," she says slowly, "that his main plan involved Wanda. As a bomb. That if she were pushed and manipulated well enough, far enough, she would do _something_ that Magneto wants." She shakes her head. "He must have another way to get it, or a secondary goal, if he's still pushing this. I won't believe it's because he cares for those children. If he starts a war, it will not be for them."

Logan figures it goes without saying that he agrees. "Magneto's have to be stupid to think he could get what he wanted when Wanda's upset. But I wouldn't put stupidity past him."

"Not stupidity," Natasha muses. "Arrogance. Though maybe he could do it? Either way...Logan, have you heard about Jessica Drew?" She isn't a gossip, but it seems relevant that one of Magneto's new "allies" is where she is.

"That she's back with HYDRA?" Logan asks. "Yeah." He doesn't figure it'll last long, though. Jessica's like Natasha: not the kind of person to get stuck with a group like that for long.

"I will be surprised if Magneto doesn't use _that,"_ she says. "Especially since Jessica and Wanda went missing within a day or so of one another."

"So maybe bringing her back over is a priority now rather than later?" Logan suggests.

Natasha frowns. "I don't think she can be dragged out, if she has gone in of her own free will."

Logan hates stubborn people, hypocritically. "What do you think, then? This whole situation's going from bad to worse every day."

"It stinks," Natasha agrees. "I do not know."

Logan laughs bitterly. "Jesus. Okay, well, we're doing _something_. I can't stand being stuck in here with Creed one more day."

Natasha makes her face still in a way that is not designed to show anything, but Logan knows. "I do not know that it would help for _me_ to go to HYDRA," she says.

"Fuck," Logan says. "Yeah. I see your point. Well, too bad about that. You should call it a night. Spend some time with Jan." He's too worried about all of this going to hell to grin at her, but he relaxes a little.

~

When Natasha explains this to Jan, Jan does not relax at all.

Jan wrinkles her nose. "Okay, Nat, so we leave her to her fate. Fun plan. I probably should have done that when you were stuck there, right?"

"No!" Natasha says, more harshly than she means to.

Jan realizes it's a mean tactic, but she doesn't like the idea of Jessica stuck there, either. "So, what are we gonna do?" she asks. "We can't do nothing. Nothing's not an option."

"Do you want me to go there?" Natasha asks, eyebrow raised.

Jan hesitates. If Natasha goes back to HYDRA, she's going to run into a hell of a lot of people who want her dead. "Not really," she says. "But someone needs to help her."

Natasha says, "You couldn't have hurt me. When we met, if I had known you before, I would not have believed anything you said. I would not have believed any reason you gave for helping me."

"The way people's brains work is really messed up," Jan says ruefully. "I just want to _do_ something, you know? For someday. Because this sucks."

"Yes," Natasha says. "This is all bad." It's not the worst she's seen--Jan wasn't even born when Natasha saw the worst that she's seen. But they are inches away from something brutal and, she senses, futile. She is afraid that there are casualties and that people she loves are already among them. She does not particularly want Jessica Drew to become a pawn and a casualty in turn, and risk that she could have helped and failed.

"I want to make people okay," Jan says quietly, watching Natasha's expression. "Can we try?"

"We can try," Natasha says briskly. She leans forward, though, cupping Jan's cheek in her palm, and her kiss is gentle. "You may let yourself out when you like. If you stay put I will come back to you later."

"I'll think about it," Jan says lightly. Of course she has no intention of letting herself out. "See you when I see you."

Natasha nods, and heads out.

~

Jessica appreciates that Viper has lived up to her talk. She hasn't treated Jessica like a captive or a victim, just gave her a day to get herself back on her feet and then gave her a _job_ to do. And guess what? Viper meant it. HYDRA is different now. They're focused and purposeful and their purpose is...not anything like Jessica expected. She feels weak with relief, even as she tries to prove to Viper and all the other agents that she's really fit and capable.

It feels so much like the past that for the first second, in the middle of marking up a blueprint, she isn't surprised to see Natasha.

Natasha doesn't have too much trouble finding the HYDRA's (several) New York bases, and only a little more trouble finding the one where Jessica is staying. Information is one thing that's always available to her, even if she doesn't always like tracking it down.

She gets inside with passwords she paid for, because beating them out of someone would have caused more of a stir. Even HYDRA has a few weak agents. The uniforms have been updated, so she can't use the old one she has stowed in her quarters in the Tower.

"Hello, Jessica," she says. She's blending, a trick she doesn't use much anymore, but which she honed in her years as a spy. Her hair is dyed a few shades less red and she's standing like someone less confident than herself.

Jessica folds over the blueprint, as though Natasha hasn't gotten enough from it already to be a problem.

"Natasha," she says. "Either you're next up in telling me I'm making a mistake, or you're not that stupid."

"We both know what HYDRA has to offer," Natasha says lightly. "It's a safe haven for people who have nothing else. Yes?"

Jessica doesn't let her expression slip. "I see _you_ found something else."

"I did," Natasha says. She's automatically looking around, assessing anything here she can use, but that's not going to help very much at the moment. It's just muscle memory. "Wasp pulled me out. And stupidly, I let her. But I haven't regretted it yet."

"I've met her once or twice," Jessica says. "She's obnoxious as shit."

Natasha laughs flatly. "I might question your taste, as well. Truly? Viper?" 

"I wasn't criticizing," Jessica says.

"I was." Natasha glances around the room. "Do you plan to stay?"

"Considering that Carol and your friends are doing their damnedest to start a war with all mutant-kind, it's kind of looking like the least objectionable option."

Natasha sighs. "Nobody wants that. Everyone is simply...upset. And what about you? What are you trying to do? Something that makes you happy, I hope." She means that.

Jessica doesn't answer immediately. 

"I'm still deciding," she says. "I mean, happiness, Natasha? I don't think that comes naturally to either of us. I don't know, what should my expectations be?"

"I never had any," Natasha says shortly. "But other people did, and eventually I learned that I wasn't as alone as I thought. As I wanted to be, at times." She shrugs. "It's trite, but true. Being miserable becomes tiresome."

"What kind of damage have HYDRA done lately?" Jessica asks. "Maybe that's not at the top of your priorities, but I can tell you New York is safe. We're not interested in you, but we're not causing any trouble. I'm not miserable here. I'm safe. And as for _what_ I'm doing, I don't think it's your business."

"Fair," Natasha agrees. "I don't tell you HYDRA is a problem, because I don't know that it is. But I will tell you that I have never once regretted letting someone who cared about me pull me out."

Jessica says, "Please don't tell me this is a Carol thing. There's a difference. She isn't Jan."

"Far from it," Natasha says. "But she's not the only one who cares. You have friends, you know. They're worried sick about you."

Jessica smiles slightly. "I feel bad about Luke," she admits. "I like him. He wants to look out for people."

"I warn you, I don't think he and Danny are going to give up on you," Natasha says. "They got themselves into trouble trying to help. I don't know if you heard."

"Maybe you could tell them 'please don't,'" Jessica says. "Natasha, you can't just be here to make my--to make people feel better and to bring me to the side of light or whatever. Why exactly do you think I shouldn't be here? Is this a Magneto thing?"

Natasha's face hardens. "Isn't it always? He's playing a bigger game than we thought, and he's pulled your former team into it. And if you think he isn't aware of HYDRA's New York presence, you're a fool. He's using everyone within his reach, and trust me, that includes Viper. Either that or she's helping him because she's getting something out of it. No matter what, you're going to wind up doing what Magneto wants if you stay here."

Jessica's expression stills. "Do you know this, or is it one of your excellent educated guesses?" she asks.

"I had to work a little, to find you," Natasha says. "In finding my way to HYDRA, I found out other things. I won't say I'm certain, but I'm close. And it's me. I'm not often wrong."

Jessica won't deny that. She nods. "I'll look out," she says. "I think HYDRA is doing something good, but I'm not stupid. I'll look out."

"Just be sure it's not too late if you find out you're wrong," Natasha says.

"That's always the hard part, right?" Jessica says.

"Yes," Natasha says gravely, "but I trust your judgment." She's never really trusted anyone else's judgment very far, but pushing won't help here.

"No you don't," Jessica says. "If you did, you wouldn't be here at all. Which would be smart of you. Get out of here, Natasha, before you get caught. I'll have my eyes open, whether you believe that or not."

"As will I," Natasha says. "Don't forget your friends, Jessica, whether or not you wish they'd forget you." She leans in to press a quick kiss to Jessica's forehead, then gets out before Jessica can hit her for it.

Jessica wants to curse her out for being surprising after all, but she can't. Natasha is too old and smart and cool and gorgeous. She's always made Jessica blush, but she's so unflappable that Jessica never wants to show it. It would be really handy if in addition to being a grim old assassin, Natasha were also a dick, but she's not. 

"Take care," she says, against her better judgment, and tries to remember that she'd be stupid, after what Natasha said, not to keep her eyes open.

~

Magneto is only a looming figure when he chooses to be. He has the capacity for discretion, especially since he has, at present, secured the flighty allegiance of a teleporter. He is old and temperamental, but he appreciates a mess, and Magneto seems likely to deliver.

Magneto does not think he will have to rely on Azazel's good humors for much longer. This meeting with Madame Hydra may be the last before the situation--changes. 

He meets her alone, on time, out of considered courtesy.

Viper, despite what she thinks some of her people may whisper, is no fool, and she has not entered into this alliance with Magneto lightly. Meeting him alone is perhaps not the best idea, but it's what the situation requires.

"Magneto," she says, a little surprised that he isn't late.

"Madame Hydra," he says. "I trust plans with the bridge are coming together nicely?"

Viper smiles. "Naturally. My people are very hard-working. We've had very little in the way of interruption, too."

"Let us hope it remains that way, at least until the opportune moment." Magneto smiles grimly. "I know you have some concerns, regarding the efficacy of this plan of ours. I wished to reassure you--should my children not return, you know it will be the simplest thing to turn superheroes into murderers. But if they do--there is information in my possession now that will turn Wanda on all of them, and our uprising will make itself."

"Comforting," Viper says. It sounds nothing of the sort, but it's not her plan. "Is that--safe? Who does 'all of them' consist of?"

"The so-called heroes," Magneto says, eyebrows raised. "Don't worry, you'll be out of the line of fire." It's an aggravatingly unrealistic thing to say, as he is aware. If it's Wanda who changes the game, there's no saying how wide-spread her reaction will be. Magneto thinks he can manage it, can shape her use of magic. But, really, who knows? If his allies are lucky, they'll live to take advantage of a new world. Within certain boundaries, of course.

"I'm sure everything will come together as you plan," Viper says, a little bitterly. "I appreciate your use of Marvel's team, of course. I only hope Jessica stays out of the line of fire." There's half a question there.

"One only can hope," Magneto agrees. "You know the risks involved with any bold move; if we are lucky, we will all avoid paying any unbearable price."

"What you can bear and what I can may be wildly different things," Viper points out. She isn't armed, because she doesn't have any non-metal weapons, but she can do quite a lot with just her hands if need be. This is running in the back of her mind as she speaks.

"Yes, it would be," Magneto agrees. "Do not worry, Madame Hydra. The worst that happens to you and your people is that you remain unpopular and untouched."

"That had better be the case," Viper snaps. "I'm dealing with some delicate matters, and I'd prefer not to see them upset." She's not too worried about herself, of course. She tends to endure.

"I sympathize," Magneto says. "Oh--please tell me, exactly how important is it to you that Jessica Drew escape this engagement unscathed?"

Viper's eyes flash. "Excuse me? Did you have a plan for her in particular?"

"You do, I think," Magneto says. "No. No plan. I was only curious."

Somebody else, Viper thinks, might choose this moment to be diplomatic, or to back down. But subtlety isn't something she's very interested in, even in dealing with this man.

"Let me make one thing clear," she says. "If anything happens to Jessica-- _anything_ I don't like--you're not going to be particularly happy with what comes next."

"Well then," Magneto says, "we'll just both have to be extra careful with her. But I'm sure we can make it clear to the public just how--ugly--Ms. Drew's separation from Marvel and her cohorts was."

"I'm not comfortable using that," Viper says sharply. She means _I'm not comfortable with_ you _using that._

"Use? No. But eventually, the connection will be made, and everyone will fare better if she states absolutely that she objected to some of their behaviors, and therefore left for a more suitable organization."

"I can speak to her about it," Viper concedes. "As long as I'm in charge of anything regarding her."

Magneto raises his eyebrow. "Of course. You're in charge."

Viper doesn't imagine she'll ever feel that way when she's working with someone like this, but she just says, "Deal. And keep me updated. I have to get back."

"Of course," says Magneto with a smile. "Thank you for your time, Madam Hydra."

Viper heads back to base, feeling less uneasy than she expected. Magneto may be a snake, but at least that means he's predictable enough. She'll have to keep a close eye on Jessica, though. For now, she'll make sure Jessica's all right with the plan.


	55. everyone bridges some gaps that don't need it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Fuck me,” Danny says. “Fuck _them._ Fuck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: people making mistakes, attacking NY landmarks

Thor saves them from their _conference_ with Magneto.

They’re all--Avengers and Ms. Marvel’s team alike--hunching around the big conference room feeling terrible. Magneto’s adorable friends have all sneaked off, to plot or destroy or break something off JARVIS again, probably. Magneto is half a scheduled hour away.

“You’ll notice,” Clint says gloomily, “that this is the first time ever that Fury hasn’t stuck his oar in at a bad moment. It would actually be awesome if he stuck his oar in. Where is his oar?”

“He doesn’t want to be associated with disaster,” Danny says. “Trust me. He _always_ ignores _us.”_

“We can recover,” Tony says. “Don’t worry.”

Carol snorts. The difference between the two of them is that Tony can lie about that and almost sound like he means it. She’d love to say this can’t get any worse, but they can all see exactly how much worse it’s about to get.

“Carol, come on!” Jan says. “Just think of it like this: if the kids are okay, then _all_ we have to do is stall until Hank and T’Challa call, and Magneto’s whole reason for targeting us disappears!”

“Just like Latveria,” says Danny. “And how exactly do you know that we won’t be stalling for the rest of our lives? How do you know they’re not dead?”

Jan thumps the table, which surprises everyone. “Danny,” she says energetically, “you’re not your usual cheerful, motivational self today. Maybe you could try to channel that, by the time Magneto gets here? It would be _really--”_

But Thor bursts in to save them from the meeting, and from Jan.

“Friends!” he says. “This may almost come as welcome news, if we wish to delay our encounter with Magneto. HYDRA is attacking the Brooklyn Bridge!”

Tony shoots to his feet. “What? Really? Okay, that’s weird. Let’s get on this.”

Natasha, though, is frowning. “I dislike this.”

“How is that _weird?”_ Jan says. “They’re _evil._ And seriously, Nat, the first thing you say to _HYDRA is up to no good_ is _well that’s awful fishy?_ I know things have sucked lately, but I’m pretty sure we can just go fight ‘em.”

“You’re sure about what’s going on?” Jess asks.

“Aye!” Thor says, crossing his arms. “They were hard at work. The bridge was barricaded and I tried to do battle with their people, but they would not stop their assault. The ‘media’ was looking on.”

“All that aside,” Tony says, “I don’t think structural damage of landmark architecture has ever been a major focus for them. But we can’t exactly let it happen, either. Just tread carefully. They might be using it as a front for something else.”

“Whatever that something else is, it’s nothing good,” Steve says. “And neither is this. HYDRA never is.” He realizes in mid-speech that Ms. Marvel’s entire team is thinking about Jessica Drew, but aside from being too late to do anything about it, Steve doesn't feel particularly inclined.

“Thanks for the input, Cap,” says Danny. “Now can we go punch some people before we’ve lost _all_ of our morale?”

“Already on it,” Tony says. He's out the door before anyone can say anything else, grabbing the suitcase that houses his suit on the way.

~

It becomes clear when they arrive that the action is taking place on the approaches to the bridge as much as on the bridge itself. HYDRA agents swarm amidst construction crews and police; traffic is halted, and some of the commuters have gotten out of their cars to see (or yell). On the bridge, agents block the way; near the center of their group, like the queen in a hive, is a vehicle that clearly belongs to them. Madame Hydra is emerging from the top of it, and Jessica Drew is standing behind her.

“Oh, hell,” Danny whispers.

“If you have to take her out,” Carol says, voice clipped, “just try not to hurt her.” It goes without saying, for most of them, but she has to say something.

“I can’t tell what they’re doing,” Natasha says, sounding frustrated.

“I can see enough,” Tony says. “We need to split up.”

“Should we announce ourselves?” Steve asks.

“Villains!” Thor shouts, before Tony can say anything.

“Okay!” Tony says quickly. “Attention, HYDRA!” His voice carries through the suit’s amplified sound system. “Stop what you’re doing _right the hell now._ ”

Viper pivots in their direction and gives them an incredulous look.

“Yeah,” Carol says, “they don’t seem very enthusiastic about that plan, Iron Man.”

“So I guess we do the other plan,” Clint says. “Good thing knocking down HYDRA agents is a fun time for all. At least _we’ll_ be enthusiastic.”

Steve eyes him. “Someone want to drop Clint up top?” he asks. “Flyers on the bridge, the rest of us back here?” He hopes phrasing it like a question doesn’t hurt Tony’s pride too much.

“You heard the man,” Tony says. “Clint, with me.”

Carol takes off before Tony is done talking. She just wants a better view, and a better sense of what Jessica’s thinking about all this. She’s not going to get that, though. Instead, she’ll take any shot at Viper she can. Viper’s given her the excuse; now she just needs the opening. At this point, she doesn’t really care what that makes Jessica think of her.

There’s shouting from the HYDRA agents, and the construction workers, and the cops as they split up and touch ground, but that’s not unexpected; a few seconds later, and somebody throws the first punch, and then there’s nearly chaos as everyone erupts.

HYDRA has plenty powered-up weapons of the kind they used on Luke before, but none of them manage to hit him--or anyone else--anywhere serious. The main problem is the sheer number of HYDRA agents. With Thor, Carol, and Tony’s firepower, though, even that isn’t looking like too big a problem.

Carol lets herself get distracted from Viper by saving Jan and then Clint from a couple of close calls. It isn’t for another minute or so that she sees Viper again, this time climbing up on an even larger HYDRA vehicle to shout at them. Jessica is still with her.

“What the hell are you doing?” Viper yells. “Who’s in charge? You have to _stop!_ ”

Jess notices that, and signals to Luke and Danny, who both stop fighting long enough to pay attention. She’s surprised they do, actually, considering how things went last time they fought HYDRA--but maybe they took Tony’s cautions to heart more than she did.

“What are you talking about?” Jan shouts, and then grows big to be heard better. “What are you talking about? And why should we listen to _you?”_

Viper looks arrogant and furious, but also harried. “I knew your groups were _troubled_ , but I didn’t think even you would get in the way of this. What are you thinking? Look around you!”

Carol’s looking, and she’s well on her way to a horrible sinking feeling. “Fuck,” she whispers.

Steve’s close enough to hear her. “What am I missing?” he asks.

“The cops,” Carol says. “Look at the cops.” The cops are angry, but not at HYDRA.

“Is it that hard for you to believe that we’re doing something good?” Viper demands, directing her words more toward Carol than Jan. “Or did you just fly in blind without asking questions?”

Jan looks back around at her friends and catches Natasha’s eye. _What the heck is going on?_

Natasha shakes her head grimly. She doesn’t know _exactly_ what’s happening, but she knows they’ve made a mistake.

"We're rebuilding the damn bridge!" Viper says, loud and vicious and right to Carol. "What were you thinking?"

Carol, white with shock and rage, just shakes her head. "Fuck," she whispers again. She can't stop looking at Jessica.

Making everything slightly more hideous is Thor, who has not stopped fighting, and sends a HYDRA agent soaring through the air just in time to punctuate Viper’s proclamation.

“Fuck me,” Danny says. “Fuck _them._ Fuck.”

The bridge shudders, horribly, as the great wind from Thor's hammer glances off it.

"Stop!" Viper says, and this time she's pleading.

“Thor!” Steve shouts. “Back down. Everyone back down. This is a misunderstanding. Let’s not escalate the issue any further.” He sounds calm enough, but the last thing he wants to be doing is drawing attention to himself and talking calm into a situation that was _designed_ to make them look stupid at best. Terrorists, at worst. _Damn._ The worst is knowing they were supposed to step into this trap guns blazing, and they damn well did it. Stupid.

Thor stops, but it's too late. The cops, civilians, and news crews are staring at them, confused and angry.

"We didn't know," Tony says uselessly, his voice carrying through the suit's microphone.

"No," Viper snaps. "You didn't. Please go before you do more damage. Let us fix this."

“I can’t believe this!” Jan says. “You’re not a secret squad of civil engineers! You’re a secret squad of evil engineers! Why are you pretending to be anything else? You never fixed anything in the whole history of your organization!”

"I won't debate the inaccuracies of that, because they don't matter," Viper says. "All that matters it that _now_ , today, our organization has become about something else." This time she's clearly speaking only to Jessica, no matter who she's looking at.

"Nay!" Thor says. His hammer is back in his hand, and raised. "Villains and _liars_. You dare continue to play us for fools?"

The sky gets noticeably darker.

"Thor," Tony starts.

"It will not stand!" Thor shouts.

The wind howls around him and several people stagger as it hits them. The bridge moans. Steve roars, “Thor! Thor!” over the wind.

“But they were attacking it,” Jan is saying, like the wind is no issue at all. “They were making it look like it was an attack. They wanted us to.”

"It doesn't matter," Tony says, hovering in midair like he doens't know which way to turn to keep everything together. "Damn it, Wasp--They played us and they did a good job."

The sky rumbles, and Thor glowers scornfully at Steve. "Would you bow to their tricks?" he roars, slamming his hammer down.

"The bridge," Carol says. "Someone--"

The bridge creaks terribly, and Viper cries out and stumbles on the roof of her vehicle.

“Thor!” Steve shouts. “Stop. Now. We’re withdrawing to the police line.” He doesn’t even remember to check in with Tony this time. There’s no chance and not much point.

Thankfully, although belatedly, Thor listens to Steve. By the time the Avengers and company start to withdraw, Viper is steady on her roof and shouting orders at her people to stabilize the bridge.

“Oh, god,” Jan says. “That looked like an attack, right? They totally made that look like an attack. We didn’t just screw up for no reason?”

“I guess that’s possible,” Jess says. But she’s looking at Jessica, far away at Viper’s side, looking back at them.

“Hey,” says Danny, “does someone who flies want to go get Hawkeye off that pole?”


	56. magneto intends this plan to work beautifully

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gambit, looking out the glass doors, says, “My friends, I believe the paparazzi have arrived.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: references to police violence, racism, sexual assault, alcoholism; bad parenting

It becomes evident fairly quickly that stabilizing the bridge is going to take time, so the Avengers and so on go back to the Tower. 

“We have to figure out what they’re up to,” Jan says. “There’s _no way_ that _HYDRA_ is working for the common good. And there’s no way that one little tap from Thor is gonna take out the Brooklyn Bridge like it’s on its last legs! The Brooklyn Bridge doesn’t even need that much work, and none of the work it _does_ need is even on the bridge itself! It's all on the approaches! No offense, Thor.”

“You’re a bridge expert?” Danny asks.

“She goes to a lot of fundraisers,” Clint explains. He smiles at Bobbi, and then regrets it, because there really hasn’t been time in the last few days to find out exactly what she, not Mystique, really thinks of him.

When they get back to the tower, Magneto and his entourage are waiting for them in the lobby.

“You missed our meeting,” he says. “Too busy with little acts of terrorism?”

"It wasn't what it looked like," Tony says flatly, because he knows it isn't worth it.

"Can we just assume that's obvious and get right to what you wanted to talk about?" Carol says. This isn't exactly going to get worse, unless somebody dies. She can't stop thinking about Jessica standing next to Viper. Fuck.

“That’s a difficult question,” Magneto says. “I don’t think I am interested in continuing to work alongside so-called heroes who so flagrantly dispense with care for the common good in order to promote their own egos. It gives me cause to doubt, with regards to my children’s well-being.”

“Says you!” Jan squawks angrily before Natasha can stifle her.

"So if you're not working with us, what will you be doing?" Carol asks. Because that seems, at first glance, like a good thing.

“Prosecuting you,” Magneto says calmly. “I’ll make my statement when the press inevitably arrives at your heels.”

"Your children could be _dead_ ," Natasha snaps. She leaves it there, although she'd clearly like to say more.

"She's right," Tony says. "You have really shitty priorities."

“Of course I’ll keep searching for them,” Magneto says. “But I’ll get justice, too.”

"Justice," Thor says darkly. He's been sulking ever since they got back. "If you truly cared for that, your children would never have sought us in the first place."

Creed rolls his eyes, and Magneto says, “Think what you will. It matters more to you than me.”

Gambit, looking out the glass doors, says, “My friends, I believe the paparazzi have arrived.”

"Let's get ready to make some more apologies," Tony says to Carol. Carol doesn't answer.

"Your kids are gonna kick your ass," Logan growls at Magneto. "When they come back. Which they will." They better.

Magneto makes a small, disdainful sound. 

“Sir,” says JARVIS, “I believe some law enforcement are attempting to open the door through brute force.

“I believe that’s illegal!” Jan says.

“I believe we can see them for ourselves,” Danny says.

“Should we go out, or run away?” Clint says. “I am pretty into the running away. Not that I’m a coward, or anything.”

"Of course not," Bobbi says, heartfelt. She blushes. Wow, not the time.

"Let's go," Carol says. "We'll have to face the music eventually." She feels completely drained of hope, and too worn down to even panic over what could happen to them next. Jessica's gone, Magneto's kids are gone, and everyone hates them. Why not go yell at the cops a little?

Tony nods. "Anyone who feels like staying inside is welcome to. Otherwise, let's go see what kind of damage we can do now."

Danny glances over at Luke. “Go talk to the cops and a small riot?” he says. “I thought Stark had a friend who’s black.”

"Yeah, I'm staying here," Luke says. Especially after the hospital. And his leg still hurts. "I'll keep an eye on anyone who stays." He glances at Mystique and Gambit.

But Magneto isn’t about to follow Tony Stark out the door like he’s embarrassed. He says, “With me, quickly,” and goes straight out the door. Not by _walking_ of course, but by floating pompously through the air, opening the door ahead of himself. Gambit and Creed and Mystique leave in the usual way, hurrying to catch up.

“They are inside the building, just here,” they hear Magneto boom. And then he starts talking about their violence and betrayal and his poor missing daughter. Children. Before the door slams shut.

“I just want to cry and _hit_ something,” Jan says.

"I know," Natasha says. "But don't. This can't continue. Something will break."

"I'll rip him _apart_ ," Logan spits.

"Everyone, deep breaths," Tony says. He sounds like he's panicking. He follows Magneto's people out the door and into the mass of accusing voices.

Danny looks toward Jess, who says, “I’m okay with the public eye, but you can stay if you want.”

"We'll hold down the fort together," Luke tells Jess. He privately thinks Thor should stay out of sight, but that doesn't seem likely. He's already following Tony.

“Really helpful, guys,” Clint says, getting by them. “Enjoy standing here doing nothing together while we stand doing nothing together outside as a group.”

“No,” Danny says. “I’ll come out. Right?” He checks with Luke.

Luke shrugs and doesn't say anything. His leg is burning and he doesn't want to put up with shit today. Besides, Clint is right. No in this situation is going to make useful headway.

"I'll come out," Danny says. "What's a rich white boy got to worry about?"

Carol steps out, not looking as contrite as she should. She hates reporters. She just wants to go home and drink. "Okay, okay," she says, "Let's get this over with. I'd rather speak to a police officer than a reporter."

But she doesn’t have time for any rational words with anyone, or even time to pick a fight. Magneto roars, “What will you say, Ms. Danvers? That you’re a terrorist, a kidnapper, a pathetic drunk too high on your own ego to be let on the street, let alone given the opportunity to grandstand to an injured public and a grieving parent!”

"Go to hell, you--"

Tony grabs Carol's arm before she can say something she really shouldn't. "We're not going to fight about it," he says loudly.

Carol shakes her head. This isn't going to work. Tony can't diffuse a situation gone this far. Nobody can.

Jan says, “You have to study the bridge! There’s no way we made it weak! It was a HYDRA trap the whole time!”

One of the reporters yells a question, and then they all push forward, cops shoving back, people with guns all pointed at _them_ like _they’re_ the problem. 

Clint looks for Bobbi and grabs her hand. “This is a _mess,”_ he says. “This is why I liked doing things from trees. And for SHIED. No one ever bothers with--hey, that kid photographer is in that tree again.” Interesting to no one but him, and not that interesting to him. They should have escaped, he _said_ so.

That’s when Madame Hydra arrives.

Still riding in her HYDRAtank, she looks calm and perfectly put together, although her costume is covered in dirt and grease. Jessica is still beside her. Carol has to grit her teeth to keep from calling out to her. 

"The bridge is stable for now," Viper says, her voice carrying through some sort of microphone. "No thanks to any of you. I'm here to see you answer for your actions." She gives Magneto a little smirk. She can't play wronged and aloof as well as he can, but she doesn't need to. She's beautiful and angry. That will do well enough.

“Do you think the Avengers attacked the bridge on purpose because they have a grudge against you?” a reporter calls.

“You’ve been known for terrorist activities in the past,” calls another.

The cops start shouting for everyone to back up. One of them grabs Steve and someone else, a bystander, shouts something at him that makes him look about ready to punch them _and_ the cop. Everyone is angry and moving too fast.

“The worst of this,” Magneto shouts over the heads of all, “the worst of all, is that my children--my _children_ are _dead_.” He chokes on the words, tears instantly rolling down his cheeks. “My children are dead, and your so-called superheroes are to blame.”

“That’s not true!” Jan screams at him. No one knows who to look at or who to blame.

“And before they ever let my children die,” Magneto says, “do you know where they led them? Do you know what happens to people who come to close to your heroes?”

“Shit,” Clint says. “Oh, Bobbi, I hope this is a fake-out. I hope he doesn’t know what happened with Pietro.”

"Uh," Bobbi says. "What _did_ happen?"

“I don’t know,” Clint hisses. “That’s the problem. All I know is something bad happened and suddenly everyone was taking a long vacation.”

From her platform, Viper looks interested, viciously so. "I've heard plenty about what Ms. Marvel's team can do to people," she says, half to the crowd, half to Magneto. "Tell me, what about the Avengers?"

Mageto sweeps the crowd with his gaze as though the idea of saying it here, in public, makes him feel weak.

“Tony Stark,” he says, voice breaking. “Forgive me,” he tells the audience. “I--”

There is a howling sound and the light twists around them, and suddenly, in front of everyone, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff appear whole and unharmed. 

“--wait for Loki!” Pietro is saying. He looks around. “Well, shit. I guess things are worse than they said.”


	57. wanda has a breaking point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She kind of wants the awful thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: past rape, bad parents, mental illness, unhealthy relationships, public disclosure of personal shit

“Holy cow,” says Clint.

Magneto’s face takes on a rigid, stunned expression. “My children,” he says. “My children, here. I thought the Avengers had killed you. How did you escape?”

"Escape?" Wanda says blankly. "No, it was me."

Viper hisses out a breath. "Lucky for everyone," she says. 

Jessica pushes forward to look at Viper’s face. “You knew they weren’t dead,” she says. “Or if you didn’t, you didn’t think they definitely _were.”_

"Trust me, Jessica,” Viper says, “I'm as surprised as you."

Wanda looks at her, at the cops, at the reporters. "Why is everyone…?" She withdraws slightly, but there's nowhere to go.

“We thought you were dead,” Magneto says. “And these _terrorists,_ these so-called friends of your brother’s, were meant to be working with me to find you. But instead they hid you both and tried to destroy a city landmark to satisfy their egos--”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Pietro demands. “They didn’t hurt us! They wouldn’t do that!”

Steve wants to grab Pietro and hide him in a locked room. He’s the wrong person to be on the spot in the middle of something he doesn’t understand, with everyone holding weapons of every kind, and tempers mounting. 

“Pietro!” he says. “It’s all right! Just quiet down!”

"It was me," Wanda says, a little louder. "It wasn't the Avengers. How would they even do it? I did it. I hid us. They're our _friends_. They, they cooked us dinner." She looks between Steve and Magneto anxiously.

“Friends?” Magneto rumbles. The press are taking pictures and hanging on his words. “Tony Stark let his childhood abuser--”

Pietro goes pale and starts toward Wanda, but there’s never any stopping Magneto.

“-- _sexually assault your brother,_ Wanda. That’s what good friends they are! They leave their messes out in the open and allow _my children_ to be--savagely attacked. I apologize,” he says to the crowd. “I only discovered this earlier today. I would never have continued any alliance with the Avengers if I’d--just known.”

"What?" Wanda says into the murmur. "What?" she says again, in the roar that starts up from--just about everyone. The Avengers look horrified and furious. The crowd looks horrified and fascinated. The woman in the large vehicle, the one Wanda doesn't know, looks smug. It's too much.

“Wanda, it’s fine,” Pietro says. “Wanda, he’s manipulating you, that’s not what happened, it isn’t--”

“You look happy,” Jessica whispers to Viper. “What the fuck do you have to be happy about?”

"Oh, don't be so soft," Viper snaps. "It's working, isn't it? It's making those _superheroes_ look like shit. Like assholes who hurt the most vulnerable people they can get their hands on."

Wanda has her arms wrapped around herself, and she's mouthing wordlessly. Pietro is tugging at her arm. Carol’s team and the Avengers are standing around looking panicked and guilty and useless, which means that all the hearsay about Pietro is probably true.

Jessica says, “Is that your game? Why do you even care if they look like shit? Why are you on Magneto’s side?”

"He wants what we want," Viper says, almost casually. The microphone is off by now. "To keep troublemakers out of our way. He scratches my back I scratch his. He calls a little press conference, we do a little bridge work. We get what we want. Then, don't worry, we discard him."

“When we get _what?”_ Jessica says. “I thought we were fixing things, now. Since when does Magneto want to fix things?” She’s aware that everyone, including Viper, is paying attention to Wanda, now, but she doesn’t care. There’s a seed of white-hot anger burning in her throat, and it’s growing.

"Don't be naive," Viper says, soothing and patronizing, looking past her. "We can fix things without playing by _their_ kind of rules." She gestures at Carol as she says it. "I thought you had a little more spirit of adventure in you, darling. Don't make me regret this."

“Wanda!” Pietro is saying loudly. “Wanda stop!” 

Wanda and her father are arguing--Wanda is arguing, Magneto is trying to make himself sound as cool and calm and tragically regal as he can. Jessica hopes he fails.

Jessica says, “Why? What’s the _goal_?”

"Us, Jessica," Viper says. "HYDRA and the Mutants and nobody else. Finally, where we were meant to be. This is only the first step. This is going to become so much bigger." She glances at Wanda for a second, then dismisses her. "We're going to rule again."

“Oh,” says Jessica. “I see.”

“We may have to burn a few bridges on the way,” Viper says smoothly. “So to speak. But it will be worth it.”

“Burn a few bridges?” Jessica says. “What, like today? Like _mine?_ Are you telling me I’m here because having me reject Carol’s team for HYDRA makes you look good and them look bad and--what? How do I fucking look? Am I just your informant? You fucking pawn? Is that why I’m fucking here?”

"That and you needed us," Viper says. "So really it's a win-win."

Jessica’s not stupid, and she could have guessed, but it enrages her so much that she’s knocked speechless. There’s shouting. The air around Wanda ripples, as if someone is twisting it.

"What the hell?" Viper says. "Maybe we should continue this discussion _inside_ the HYDRAtank."

"Stop looking at me," Wanda is saying, hands over her face. Such a public fight in a public place, and all about them… "I'll go back to Latveria; I'll hide it again…"

“What do you mean, you’ll hide it?” a reporter yells, but her expression scares him silent. Something is wrong with the air. Things aren’t how they were before, and it’s obvious no one knows _how_ they aren’t.

“Think about Loki!” Pietro is saying, but every time Wanda notices him, the entire crowd feels it. 

“Wanda,” says Magneto. “Wanda, my dear, I understand your anger.” Jessica sees it in a moment. He’s _using_ her. He wants her to get angry, and he wants to pin it on the humans when something awful happens.

She kind of wants the awful thing.

“Go where you want,” she says to Viper. Something is happening with Wanda. People are screaming. The Avengers are shouting. Carol is shouting. 

Pietro is still clinging to Wanda’s shoulder. “Wanda, please, don’t,” he’s saying. “Come on, they’re just tricking you into doing something bad. He’s just using you.”

“ _I’m_ using you?” Magneto demands. “I’m the liar? Who told you I was against you? Who ran away and tried for months to kill himself, and then let you into that tower of monsters without warning you what they might do to you? Who did that, Wanda?”

“Shut up!” Pietro snarls. His grip is too tight.

"Stop talking to me!" Wanda shrieks. Her words come out either too loud or too soft, depending on where the listeners are standing. People are starting to back away fast, even the Avengers. "Don't, don't, don't don't don't." She sobs and the world shudders, on the edge of something. She looks around at everyone, face tearstained. "Don't look at me like that."

Even Magneto. She’s never seen him afraid of her, but even he is staring at her like his expectations are slipping out of his control. 

“Wanda, please,” Pietro says, voice skittish, hands shaking. He backs away, just a step. “Please, stop.”

The _heroes_ all look like she’s just what they expected of her.

"You too?" she asks, looking at Pietro. She can feel her hands doing something and the air getting bright. It feels like it's pressing too hard against her skin. "Stop it!" She looks around. "Just _stop it._ Everyone _**stop being afraid of me!**_ "


	58. wanda and jessica do better on their own

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It’s your fucking power, and you don’t owe yourself to anybody."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: discussion of rape, misogyny, bad families, violence

It takes Jessica some time--it’s hard to say how long--to realize that something has happened. Longer to see what it is.

She’s shouting at Viper and Viper stops moving. The reporters stop moving. The cops stop moving. The Avengers stop moving. Everyone stops moving. Some pigeons move. Jessica looks around and she can hear cars honking, but it’s far off, and it gets farther.

Wanda is standing between her father and her brother. Pietro is still grasping her shoulder. Wanda is crying.

“Stop,” Wanda is saying wonderingly. “Oh.” She steps out of Pietro’s grip.

Jessica doesn’t know if Wanda has noticed her yet. She thinks it’s better to lurk for now. She doesn’t know what Wanda is trying to do.

Wanda, still crying, wipes at her eyes and looks around. She stopped them. This isn’t what Loki told her to do. This isn’t control. But it’s so _quiet._

It’s hard to miss the one different thing for too long. A pigeon startles her, and then she sees that Spider-Woman--one of people who tried to “rescue” her--isn’t stopped.

Wanda covers her mouth. What does it mean? She isn’t sure, but it’s nice not to be so horrifyingly alone. Or maybe Spider-Woman is about to attack her. 

“Stop being afraid of me,” she says weakly. There’s no magic in it.

“I’m not,” Jessica says. “I’m pissed off.”

“Oh,” Wanda says. Doesn’t know what to say. “Why?”

“Not at you,” Jessica says. She shrugs at Viper. “That piece of work. And my not-ex.” She nods at Carol. “And at people like your dad for fucking using everybody. Not really mad at myself. I think if I were a good little girl, at this point I’d say I’m mad at myself. But screw it. I’m not. And good riddance.”

Wanda nods numbly. “I thought I was just scared, but I think I’m mad, too. Not at myself.” She looks at Magneto’s frozen expression. “He doesn’t love me.”

“Probably he does,” Jessica says. “Maybe not. Doesn’t always matter.”

That part is a revelation. Wanda feels sick and free at the same time.

“They wouldn’t stop looking at me,” she says. “Are you really not afraid? You came to Genosha to--to neutralize the threat.”

“Sure,” says Jessica. “You’re dangerous. But you’d have to do some pretty specific stuff to get me where I scare.” 

That’s a huge comfort. Wanda hugs herself. “I don’t even know you,” she says. “What’s your name?”

“Jessica,” Jessica says. “Or Spider-Woman. Whichever.” They’re both the names she made for herself.

Wanda nods. "All of this was so much easier when it was just me and Pietro,” she says. “I can't believe--I should have _known_. I knew _something_ happened. Creed knew, too. He kept talking around it." And now maye Pietro is too hurt to recover.

“Are you talking about Pietro?” Jessica says. 

She nods. "I used to know everything about Pietro. The person who did it had better be dead." She could unmake them without even trying. Almost without meaning to.

“Oh, honey,” Jessica says, not comfortingly. She’s feeling too raw to be solicitous. She’s usually too raw to be solicitous.

"I could kill you," Wanda says conversationally. "I could get rid of every single person here. Here or anywhere." She sits down. "I want to die." She doesn't exactly mean it. She's just so overwhelmed.

Jessica climbs around Viper and down off the HYDRAtank. She brings herself up to where Wanda is standing on the sidewalk. 

“Easier to talk like this,” she explains. “Why do you want to die?”

"I'm a monster," Wanda says. "Obviously. Everyone wants me dead so they'll be safe. Don't you know? Besides, if I can't protect Pietro, I might as well be dead, right?"

“Who the hell gives a _fuck_ about Pietro?” Jessica says. It comes out in a snarl, and she doesn’t even care as she says it that it’s not fair and that, obviously, the answer to _who gives a fuck?_ is Wanda.

Wanda blinks at her. "Pietro was my life," she says. "Then Magneto was my life. Now--I don't know." She wishes Jessica wouldn't yell.

“No,” Jessica says. “They’re not your life. _You’re_ your life. You might hate it and feel like a freak and get scared as hell, but it’s your fucking life. I know you have some sexist control-freak relations, but honey, try to ignore them and think for yourself.”

"Pietro's not like that," Wanda says. She doesn’t say that she doesn't know _how_ to think for herself. She thinks she was starting to, a little, in Latveria, but at this moment it's all gone. She keeps looking at Creed, frozen in place, as if he's about to start moving again. Nowhere is safe, really.

“Pietro’s a cat with its tail in a knot,” Jessica says. “Pietro’s a mess. That’s not on you. And Magneto is a prick. Anyway, it’s irrelevant. You can’t blame your bad relations every time you want to go on a killing spree or a freezing binge or whatever. Everyone has bad relations. Suck it up.”

Even Loki didn't tell her to suck it up. "What do you know?" Wanda asks, almost curious. "You don't know anything about scaring people just by existing."

“My life story is exactly none of your business, princess,” Jessica says. “I know what I’m talking about. People hate you, want to fuck with you, want to kill you, want to get you on their side, want to get away from you. It’s all the same. It’s all the same thing.”

"So what do you do about it? I mean, what do _you_ do about it?"

“Me?” Jessica says. “Get drunk, quit my job, hook up with a lesbian terrorist and lose all my friends. This time around. I didn’t say I’m a role model.”

Wanda thinks about this. "What's going to happen to you when I unfreeze them again?" She means _if I unfreeze them._ She means _what's going to happen to both of us?_

“Me? Nothing much. Hey, let’s make a list of all the reasons Magneto’s a big stinking liar and no one should listen to him. You just stopped the world. Or, a little piece of it, I guess. I think you’ll have everyone’s attention when they come back. It’s a good time to get things straight.. Magneto’s been stirring shit up for weeks, trying to turn us and the Avengers and you into a war with humanity. You’re probably the only person who can screw him over the way he deserves.”

"Can I do that?" Wanda mutters. Everyone will listen to him. They always do. "I can't. He'll be so disappointed. I mean, they won't believe me."

“Then do a practice run. Tell me what’s wrong with him.”

"He's--" Wanda doesn't even know why she's listening to this woman. "He's mean? I mean, he acts like he hates Pietro. And he--Well, he lies. To everyone. I can tell, sometimes. And I know he lied to me about why Pietro left." This is harder than it should be.

“Yeah,” says Jessica. “Okay. And he just tried to turn New York on its hero population, conspire to destroy a major landmark, put a terrorist organization in power, and start a war with humankind. Also, Wanda, he just tried to use you like a bomb. Everyone knows you’re powerful, and volatile as hell. What did he think you were going to do when he told you and the whole damned city of New York, _oh, your best friend got raped and didn’t tell you and you can blame these people right here_? Daughter? You’re his damned catalyst.”

Wanda takes a breath, about to sob, but somehow she doesn't. "They won't believe me," she says flatly. "They're afraid of me and they think I'm crazy. You heard him. He sounds like he knows everything that's happening all the time and just wants to help make things right."

“So don’t talk to them,” Jessica shrugs. “You don’t even have to talk to him. You can just say, hey, you’re a fucking asshole and I won’t have anything to do with it. And leave. No one can make you stay, right? That’s kind of the thing, with being powerful.”

"I don't have anywhere to--" Wanda stops. That's not quite true. There’s somewhere. If they'll have her. "Okay. Okay, you're right. I need to go back where they can help me control it. Then next time I come back, people will only be afraid of me if I want them to be."

“Good,” Jessica says. “I’m all for you getting yourself under control. No offense. And then maybe you’ll stop putting up with bullshit like this.” She glances around. “Hey, that said, if you could stick around long enough to help diffuse the situation, that would be great. If you don’t, I can’t see this day going any way that doesn’t suck.”

Wanda swallows. "No, I know. I want to help. I--don't think any of this is because of the superheroes. Not exactly." She shivers. If she can just keep her cool, it should be easy enough to get the crowd to take her side of over Magneto's. "Is there anything _you_ need me to do? You've been--really helpful."

“What, me? No,” Jessica says. She looks back at Viper and says, “Actually, you can just hang on a sec.” 

She climbs back up the HYDRAtank and gives Viper a kick to the shin. “There,” she says, sounding satisfied. “Oh, wait!” 

She gets down again, jogs over to Carol, and kicks her, too. 

“ _There,”_ she says. “Okay. Wanda. Can I say one more thing before you press play?” 

Wanda nods, eyes wide.

“Okay,” Jessica says. “Here goes: it’s your fucking power, and you don’t owe yourself to anybody. Even if they _made_ you, they don’t fucking own you. Got it?”

"I won't forget," Wanda says. " _Thank you._ " Then she focuses on letting go of her fear of everyone's fear, and they unfreeze around her with a distant cracking sound.

Carol looks around and sees Jessica first thing. She opens her mouth to say god knows what, and Jessica says, “Shut up, Ms. Marvel. The kid’s talking.”

Wanda straightens up and looks at Magneto. "I don't want to hear anything more from you," she says. She makes sure she's nice and loud.  
"I'm sick of being used. Who did you think I was going to hurt if you scared me so much I lost control?" 

Magneto tries to stop looking startled. “Hurt?” he says. “I didn’t want you to hurt anyone. I didn’t know you were even alive, my dear. What did you just do? I’m so grateful--” 

He moves toward her, arms wide. Pietro, who’s finding his balance, says, “Why can’t you ever just leave us the _fuck_ alone?” His face is red, and he doesn’t look at Wanda. She thinks he’s probably going to cry, once they’re not in public.

"You threw Pietro out," Wanda says loudly. "Then you gave me to the Avengers so you could accuse them of hurting me when I lost control. You _knew_ I would lose control. You never bothered to teach me. Do you think I haven't payed attention to what you and your minions say? You want war. And you're willing to use the Avengers, HYDRA, and even your children to get it." She wants to curl in on herself. She wants to disappear. But she can't. Everyone’s listening.

“I want equality!” Magneto says. “I want freedom. I don’t want to hurt my children. I may not think much of the Avengers, but I have worked with them to find you, Wanda.”

“You worked with HYDRA, too,” Jessica says loudly. “You wanted to make New York’s superheroes look like hazards, so you turned them into kidnappers, and turned HYDRA into good guys. But HYDRA weakened the bridge, Magneto, so that when the Avengers tried to stop their terrorist activities, they’d end up looking like terrorists themselves.”

“Why did you want the Avengers discredited?” calls out a kid in the reporter crowd.

(“Hey, isn’t that the Spider-Man guy?” Clint whispers to Danny. “I have no idea,” Danny says. “How would I know anything about the Spider-Man guy? We live in _completely_ different worlds.” “You said it,” Clint agrees.)

“I can tell you!” Gambit says cheerfully. “Although I know you all may not trust me. They were going to put HYDRA and the Brotherhood in the place of the heroes. New protectors who look for lost little girls and rebuild our bridges. Makes for a very easy takeover, no?”

Creed snarls and grabs Gambit by the throat. “I _knew_ you smelled like weasel,” he growls.

“Does that mean it’s true?” calls Spider-Man guy.

Viper sighs. "So much for your dream, Magneto." She's smart. She’s got resources. She knows when to quit.

Wanda is shaking. She just wants to grab Pietro's hand, but she doesn't yet.

"I think you should leave, _father_ ," Wanda says. "Now that everyone has been reminded of who you really are." 

“I assume that this tantrum means you will not want to return immediately home,” he says, and Wanda realizes that she’s _won._ There’s no riot, no war, no real weapon he can use against her or any of them, if he’s putting everything down to a childish tantrum not really worth addressing.

"You’ll know I’m coming back if I’m there," she says. "For now, I'm going where I want. For once." She glances quickly at Jessica. _Did I do okay?_ She thinks she did. She can’t even imagine what horrible things the news is going to say about her and Pietro and everyone else, but there’s _not a war,_ and she’s okay.

Jessica grins at her with teeth.

“Very well,” says Magneto. “Mystique. Sabretooth. Sabretooth, put that down. Come with me.” 

Creed drops Gambit, growls, and follows Mystique and Magneto away from the tower. Some of the reporters split off to chase them futilely. The rest are shouting questions and pushing forward against the police, and everyone finds themselves pressing closer to the tower, where Luke is beckoning at them to hurry the hell up.

“Where do you think they’re going, exactly?” Jess wonders, looking after Magneto.

“They probably have a nearby magnet plane,” Danny says. “Or whatever.”

“Okay,” Clint says, “Magnet plane, shmagnet plane. _Now_ can we retreat?”

"Definitely," Tony says. He and most of the rest start inside.

Carol is looking at Jessica, who is looking at Viper. Viper is already climbing back into her tank. 

"Well, Jessica," she says, "it was nice while it lasted. I should have known people don't _really_ change. God knows you didn't. New packaging, same traitorous asshole." She sounds genuinely hurt. It's hard to tell if she is.

“Oh my god,” Jessica says, walking away, past Carol, over to Wanda and Pietro. “You’re right. So much regret.” She puts her hand on Pietro’s shoulder. “You two going to stand around waiting for the paparazzi to eat you alive?” She gestures toward the tower, into which almost everyone else has escaped.

Gambit swoops up before they can answer. “Miz Maximoff,” Gambit says, and then frowns. “Other Maximoff, I don’t know how you go--”

“We’re going inside,” Jessica says, disgruntled. She starts toward the tower and Wanda and Pietro come with her. Logan is standing by the door, which will be funny if Gambit is still here when they reach him.

“We will walk and talk,” Gambit says, striding alongside. “Let me tell you how happy I am that things have resolved themselves so non-violently. And if I could, may I ask one tiny question?” 

"I guess," Wanda says, not really looking at him. She still doesn't trust him.

“Ver’ kind, ver’ kind,” Gambit says, bowing in transit. “Maximoffs, do you have any interest in joining the X-Men?”

Pietro stops. Jessica and Wanda stop.

“What?” Pietro says.

"Uh, we don't really--like groups," Wanda says, taken aback. "I guess we could let you know? We're going away for a little while."

“The politest answer I could possibly hope for,” Gambit says, surprisingly. “I’ll take it back as a no, shall I, and then maybe no one will harass you about it for awhile. I’m more of your mind than of yours on teamwork, to be quite truthful about it, but today it’s what I’m paid for, so I ask, I ask.”

"Jesus Christ, get fucked," Logan snarls. Jackpot. "I can't believe you. All this time you were working for them--us, I mean. Whatever, the X-Men. I coulda told you the kids wouldn't join." He gives Pietro an apologetic little nod.

“I told you, I had to ask!” Gambit says. “You don’t pay off a debt to Charles Xavier by asking Wolverine something Charles Xavier could ask Wolverine. Besides, I think it’s a little better to let Wanda and Pietro speak for themselves. Anyway, you’ll want to be going inside, and I’ll want to be going somewhere I am not telling anybody. Fair journeys, Maximoffs!” He waves and makes his exit, which the mob of reporters makes a little awkward.

“That guy,” says Jessica.

“Yeah,” says Pietro. “I really don’t know.” 

They go inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you tomorrow for the ending.


	59. wanda maximoff has the last word

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well,” Wanda says slowly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: none

It’s almost hot in the sun, now, even up in the mountains. Wanda and Pietro have been basking as much as they can, between Wanda’s lessons, when Pietro gets away from work. Usually with some good warm wolf to lean on. This afternoon, though, they’re on they’re own, dipping their toes into one of the streams that run through the castle grounds, taking a break from lessons, Avengers, visitors, and family members of every kind but one another.

“What did Spider-Woman want to talk to you about?” Pietro asks. “Jessica. Whatever. Whatshewant?”

“Well,” Wanda says slowly. She’s finding there are times she doesn’t want to share _everything_ with Pietro. She thinks maybe what Jessica has to say to her is one of those things. “She likes me. She thinks I’m good at what I do, I think.”

“You’re awesome, that’s why,” Pietro says. “And cute. You got the cute genes. Does she still want you to join up with her team? Ms. Marvel’s? Whatever, the _Vigilants,_ I guess it is now.”

Wanda nods. “Only if I’m interested. She’s not being pushy or anything.” Wanda isn’t sure about a team that drove Jessica away, but if she says Carol and the others are okay, they probably are.

Pietro pauses to consider, which is strange for Pietro. “I think you should be on my team,” he says. “But that’s me. You’ve got a thing going on. I mean, I’m pretty sure. Somekindathing. And they need you more than the Avengers would, that’s for fucking sure.” He blinks at her. “But don’t do any of that stuff if you don’t want, okay? You can stay out of the spotlight, maybe learn to be king of Latveria...” He grins. Wanda laughs.

“I know,” she says. “But I don’t think I really _can_ figure out what I want if I just stay here. I feel safe with Jessica--with her team. That’s good. And don’t worry, I’ll see you all the time no matter what I do.” She squeezes his hand.

“Aw,” says Pietro. He squeezes back and lets go. “Hey, did I tell you about the hot guy I met?”

“What?” Wanda says, a little sharply. “Who? Where?”

“Ohmygodmom,” Pietro says. “Don’t freak. I met him at work! Sort of. He’s my age and everything?”

Wanda hopes she doesn’t look as guilty as she feels for assuming. “Oh. Is he an Avenger?”

“Ahaha,” says Pietro. “No. You could says he’s related? Let me tell you about how he’s hot.”

“You can try. I’m pretty sure our type has zero overlap.”

"Good point," says Pietro. "But he's got a mohawk!"

"Ew," Wanda says automatically. "But is he _nice_?"

"Uh," says Pietro. "Well, I don't want to exaggerate."

"Is he good to you?" Wanda says. "That's what I mean." Nice probably isn't _exactly_ what Pietro needs.

"We're not a thing," Pietro says. "So, so far he has had no reason to be anything to me. But I'll let ya know." He pushes her gently. "I won't do anything too stupid."

"Same," she says. "Deal. We'll both be careful." She thinks they're capable.

"That’s an exciting new hobby for us to try," Pietro says. He curls his toes. "This is so weird," he says. "It's so _nice_. I mean, every time I'm in New York I get shit, everyone’s getting shit, Cap for being normal and gay, and Stark for...all that stuff with the thing. And I’m--okay, I'm not saying I'm not--everything'snotperfect. Yeah. But I'm really _happy._ ” He nudges her. “Are you?"

Wanda smiles and it doesn't ache. "I am. Even with Carol and Jessica's team. Even though they're not mutants."

“The _Vigilants,”_ Pietro says.

Wanda smiles. “Yes, them.” 

"They're okay," Pietro says. He shrugs. "My team's better."

"Them, too," Wanda says. "And Victor and Loki. And you--I'm so glad.” Easier than saying _I never thought you would be._ She lets the sun warm her face. “We got really lucky all at once."

Fenrir comes bounding over as she speaks. "I'm going to Jotunheim for my lesson!" he says. "You can come if you want."

"Yeah!" Pietro says to Fenrir. " _Yeah,"_ he says to Wanda.

She beams at him. "Go. I'm working with Loki a little later."

"Ugh," says Pietro. "I'm the only one who hates school."

"You didn't have school," Fenrir objects. “You don’t know.”

Pietro shrugs and grins and kisses Wanda's head before getting to his feet. "Seeyalater," he says. "Have fun with learning everything."

"I will," Wanda says. It will be fun, and a little important, and after she's learned everything--well, she'll decide what she feels like then.

 

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second anniversary of our starting to write HQA, which seems like a pretty good day to end it. We wanted to say thank you to everybody who’s been reading and commenting, even if they sensibly quit reading and commenting hundreds of thousands of words ago and never ever see this. 
> 
> We’ve never done anything quite like this before and it feels like a pretty awesome accomplishment, actually. It wasn’t supposed to be a giant book series kind of thing, just an awkward Thor/Bruce pre-Avengers RP kind of thing. It also wasn’t supposed to be the thing that finally got us to start dating and it was really supposed to be finished before we got married, but there you go. We’re obviously PRETTY GLAD IT TURNED OUT THIS WAY. We really hope this story did some good things for you, like it did for us.
> 
> This _really is the end,_ by the way. We don’t have another story arc up our sleeves (although maybe some things happen later to some people and some of that gets written down by someone at some point). We have some Batman! Maybe if you like Batman you will find us there next. WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE, you all are wonderful, and we’re completely grateful. Posting this beast was worth it because of you. So thanks.  <3


End file.
